Judgment of the General Court (Second Chamber) of 5 November 2013 —
Capitalizaciones Mercantiles v OHIM — Leineweber (X)
(Case T‑378/12)
Community trade mark — Opposition proceedings — Application for Community figurative mark X — Earlier Community figurative mark X — Relative grounds for refusal — Likelihood of confusion — Similarity of the signs — Distinctive character of the earlier mark — Article 8(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009
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 24‑26)
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 — Likelihood of confusion with the earlier mark — Figurative marks X and X (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paras 30, 32, 51, 58, 60‑62, 66)
3. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks devoid of any distinctive character — Assessment of distinctive character — Sign constituted by a single letter (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(b)) (see paras 38‑43)
4. 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 of the marks concerned — Criteria for assessment — Complex mark (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paras 53, 54)
5. 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 — Coexistence of earlier marks on the market — Effect (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see para. 68)
6. Judicial proceedings — Introduction of new pleas during the proceedings — Plea raised for the first time at the hearing — Inadmissibility (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 48(2), first para.) (see para. 72)
Re:
| ACTION brought against the decision of the First Board of Appeal of OHIM of 15 May 2012 (Case R 1524/2011‑1) concerning opposition proceedings between Leineweber GmbH & Co. KG and Capitalizaciones Mercantiles Ltda. |
Operative part
The Court:
2. | | Orders Capitalizaciones Mercantiles Ltda to pay the costs. |