Judgment of the Court of First Instance of 16 May 2007 - Merant v OHIM - Magazin Verlag (FOCUS)
(Community trade mark - Opposition proceedings - Application for the Community word mark FOCUS - Earlier national figurative mark MICRO FOCUS - Likelihood of confusion - Similarity of signs - Article 8(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 40/04)
Language of the case: German
Parties
Applicant: Merant GmbH (Ismaning, Germany) (represented by: A. Schulz, lawyer)
Defendant: Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) (represented by: initially, D. Schennen, subsequently, G. Schneider, acting as Agents)
Other party to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal of OHIM, intervener before the Court: Focus Magazin Verlag GmbH (Munich, Germany) (represented by: U. Gürtler, lawyer)
Re:
Action brought against the decision of the Second Board of Appeal of OHIM of 18 October 2004 (Case R 542/2002-2) in opposition proceedings between Merant GmbH and Focus Magazin Verlag GmbH.
Operative part of the judgment
The Court:
1. Annuls the decision of the Second Board of Appeal of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) (OHIM) of 18 October 2004 (Case R 542/2002-2);
2. Orders OHIM to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the applicant, Merant GmbH;
3. Orders the intervener, Focus Magazin Verlag GmbH, to bear its own costs.
____________1 - OJ C 82 of 2.4.2005.