Judgment of the General Court (Single Judge) of 29 January 2019 –
The GB Foods v EUIPO — Yatecomeré (YATEKOMO)
(Case T‑336/17)
(EU trade mark — Invalidity proceedings — EU word mark YATEKOMO — National figurative mark yatecomeré — Admissibility of new information seeking to substantiate the accuracy of a well-known fact — Likelihood of confusion — Article 8(1)(b) and Article 53(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 (now Article 8(1)(b) and Article 60(1)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001))
1. EU trade mark — Appeals procedure — Actions before the EU judicature — Jurisdiction of the General Court — Declaratory judgments — Not included
(Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 65(2) and (3))
(see para. 26)
2. EU trade mark — Procedural provisions — Examination of the facts by the Office of its own motion — Scope — Obligation to prove matters of common knowledge — Absence — Dispute before the General Court — Submission of documents to demonstrate the accuracy of a matter of common knowledge
(Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 76(1))
(see para. 30)
3. EU trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the EU 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 35-37, 39, 49)
4. EU trade mark — Surrender, revocation and invalidity — Relative grounds for invalidity — Existence of an identical or similar earlier mark registered for identical or similar goods or services — Likelihood of confusion with the earlier mark — Word mark YATEKOMO and figurative mark yatecomeré
(Council Regulation No 207/2009, Arts 8(1)(b) and 53(1)(a))
(see paras 45, 62-71, 79)
5. EU trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the EU 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 — Composite mark
(Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b))
(see paras 57, 59, 61)
6. EU trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the EU 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 — Visual similarity between a figurative mark and a word mark
(Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b))
(see para. 60)
7. EU trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the EU 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. 75)
Re:
| Action brought against the decision of the Fifth Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 13 March 2017 (Case R 1506/2016-5) relating to invalidity proceedings between Yatecomeré and The GB Foods. |
Operative part
The Court:
2. | | Orders The GB Foods, SA to pay the costs. |