Judgment of the General Court (Third Chamber) of 4 June 2014 —
Free v OHIM — Conradi + Kaiser (FreeLounge)

(Case T‑161/12)

Community trade mark — Opposition proceedings — Application for Community word mark FreeLounge — Earlier national figurative mark free ‘LA LIBERTÉ N’A PAS DE PRIX’, earlier national word mark ‘FREE’, company name ‘FREE’ and domain name ‘FREE.FR’ — Relative ground for refusal — Article 8(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 — Power to alter

1.                     Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Relative grounds for refusal — Opposition by the proprietor of an earlier identical or similar mark registered for identical or similar goods or services — Likelihood of confusion with the earlier mark — Criteria for assessment (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paras 16, 17, 43)

2.                     Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Relative grounds for refusal — Opposition by the proprietor of an earlier identical or similar mark registered for identical or similar goods or services — Similarity between the goods or services in question — Criteria for assessment (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see para. 18)

3.                     Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Relative grounds for refusal — Opposition by the proprietor of an earlier identical or similar mark registered for identical or similar goods or services — Word mark FreeLounge — Figurative mark free LA LIBERTÉ N’A PAS DE PRIX, word mark FREE, company name FREE and domain name FREE.FR (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paras 27-31, 37)

4.                     Community trade mark — Appeals procedure — Action before the EU judicature — Power of the General Court to alter the contested decision — Limits (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 65(3)) (see para. 38)

Re:

ACTION brought against the decision of the Second Board of Appeal of OHIM of 25 January 2012 (Case R 437/2011‑2), relating to opposition proceedings between Free SAS and Conradi + Kaiser GmbH.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Declares that the decision of the Second Board of Appeal of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) (OHIM) of 25 January 2012 (Case R 437/2011‑2) is annulled in so far as it considered that the services for online publication of electronic books and periodicals as well as the services for publication of periodicals and books in electronic form, including on the Internet, falling within Class 41 and covered by the application for registration, were not similar to the services to disseminate information electronically, in particular for Internet-style global communication networks, falling within Class 38 and covered by the earlier figurative mark;

2. Dismisses the action as to the remainder;

3. Orders each party to bear its own costs.