ORDER OF THE GENERAL COURT (Seventh Chamber)
24 February 2015 (1)
(Community trade mark – Opposition – Withdrawal of the application for registration of the contested mark – No need to adjudicate)
In Case T-473/13,
G-Star Raw CV, established in Amsterdam (Netherlands), represented by J. van Manen, M. van de Braak and L. Fresco, lawyers,
applicant,
v
Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) (OHIM), represented by A. Folliard-Monguiral, acting as Agent,
defendant,
the other party to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal of OHIM, intervener before the General Court, being
PepsiCo, Inc., established in New York (United States), represented initially by V. von Bomhard and T. Heirmann, and subsequently by V. von Bomhard, lawyers,
ACTION brought against the decision of the Second Board of Appeal of OHIM of 25 June 2013 (Case R 1586/2012-2), relating to opposition proceedings between G-Star Raw CV and PepsiCo, Inc.,
THE GENERAL COURT (Seventh Chamber),
composed of M. van der Woude, President, I. Wiszniewska-Białecka (Rapporteur), I. Ulloa Rubio, Judges,
Registrar: E. Coulon,
makes the following
Order
1 By letter lodged at the Registry of the Court on 17 December 2014, the applicant informed the Court of an agreement between itself and the intervener and that, pursuant to that agreement, the intervener has withdrawn its application for registration of the contested mark PEPSI RAW. To this letter was attached a copy of the intervener’s letter to the Office with this withdrawal. The applicant also informed the Court that, under that agreement, each party was to bear its own costs.
2 By letter lodged at the Registry of the Court on 22 December 2014, the defendant confirmed that it raised no objection to the case being declared devoid of purpose. The defendant requests the Court not to order it to pay the costs. The intervener did not lodge observations within the prescribed time-limit.
3 Pursuant to Article 113 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court, it suffices in the present case to find that, in the light of the withdrawal of the application for registration of the trade mark, the present action has become devoid of purpose. There is therefore no longer any need to adjudicate on the action (order of 3 July 2003, Lichtwer Pharma v OHIM - Biofarma (Sedonium), T‑10/01, ECR, EU:T:2003:182, paragraphs 16 to 18).
4 Article 87(6) of the Rules of Procedure provides that, where a case does not proceed to judgment, the costs are in the discretion of the Court.
5 In the present case, the Court considers that the applicant and the intervener must be ordered to bear their own costs and to pay those incurred by the defendant.
On those grounds,
THE GENERAL COURT (Seventh Chamber)
hereby orders:
1. There is no need to adjudicate on the action.
2. The applicant and the intervener shall bear their own costs and shall each pay half of those incurred by the defendant.
Luxembourg, 24 February 2015.
E. Coulon | | M. van der Woude |