Judgment of the General Court (Third Chamber) of 28 June 2016 —
salesforce.com v EUIPO (SOCIAL.COM)
(Case T‑134/15)
European Union trade mark — Application for European Union word mark SOCIAL.COM — Absolute grounds for refusal — Descriptive character — Lack of distinctive character — Article 7(1)(b) and (c) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009
1. EU trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of designating the characteristics of a product or service — Aim — Need to preserve availability (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see para. 12)
2. EU trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of designating the characteristics of a product or service — Assessment of the descriptive nature of a sign — Criteria (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paras 13-15)
3. EU trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of designating the characteristics of a product or service — Word mark SOCIAL.COM (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paras 17, 20, 23, 24, 30, 33)
4. EU trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Separate examination of the grounds for refusal in relation to each of the goods or services covered by the application for registration — Obligation to state the reasons for refusing to register — Scope (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Arts 7(1), and 75, first sentence) (see paras 27, 32)
Re:
| ACTION against the decision of the Fourth Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 20 January 2015 (Case R 1752/2014-4), concerning an application for registration of the word mark SOCIAL.COM as a European Union trade mark. |
Operative part
The Court:
2. | | Orders salesforce.com, Inc., to pay the costs. |