ORDER OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE NINTH CHAMBER OF THE GENERAL COURT
10 January 2024 (*)
(Removal from the Register)
In Case T-734/21,
The Chord Company Ltd, established in Wiltshire (United Kingdom), represented by A. Deutsch, lawyer,
applicant,
v
European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), represented by D. Hanf, acting as Agent,
defendant,
the other party to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal of the EUIPO being
AVSL Group Ltd, established in Manchester (United Kingdom),
1 By its action under Article 263 TFEU, the applicant, The Chord Company Ltd, seeks the annulment of the decision of the Second Board of Appeal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) of 31 August 2021 in Case R 1664/2020-2.
2 By letter lodged at the Court Registry on 14 December 2023, the applicant informed the Court, in accordance with Article 125 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Court, that it wished to discontinue proceedings. It did not seek an order as to costs.
3 By letter lodged at the Court Registry on 18 December 2023, the defendant informed the Court that it had no observations to make concerning the discontinuance of the proceedings, and requested that the defendant not be ordered to bear the costs.
4 Article 136(1) of the Rules of Procedure provides that a party who discontinues or withdraws from proceedings shall be ordered to pay the costs if they have been applied for in the other party’s observations on the discontinuance.
5 By its request that it should not be ordered to bear the costs, the defendant essentially submitted that the applicant should be ordered to bear the costs (order of 27 April 2006, ATI Technologies v OHIM — Asociación de Técnicos de Informatica, T‑377/03, not published, EU:T:2006:115, paragraph 6).
6 The case should therefore be removed from the Register and the applicant ordered to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the defendant.
On those grounds,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE NINTH CHAMBER OF THE GENERAL COURT
hereby orders:
1. Case T‑734/21 is removed from the Register of the General Court.
2. The Chord Company Ltd shall bear its own costs and pay those incurred by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).
Luxembourg, 10 January 2024.
V. Di Bucci | | M. J. Costeira |