Judgment of the General Court (Seventh Chamber) of 12 February 2015 —
Vita Phone v OHIM (LIFEDATA)

(Case T‑318/13)

Community trade mark — Application for Community word mark LIFEDATA — Absolute ground for refusal — Lack of distinctiveness — Article 7(1)(b) and Article 75 of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 — Lack of specific assessment — Duty to state reasons

1.                     Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks devoid of any distinctive character — Assessment of the distinctiveness — Criteria (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(b)) (see paras 17, 18)

2.                     Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks devoid of any distinctive character — Word mark LIFEDATA (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(b)) (see paras 21, 22, 27, 34)

3.                     Community trade mark — Decisions of the Office — Principle of equal treatment — Principle of sound administration — OHIM’s previous decision-making practice — Principle of legality — Need for a strict and complete examination in each particular case (Council Regulation No 207/2009) (see paras 37, 38)

4.                     Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Assessment of the registrability of a sign — EU rules only taken into account — Earlier registration of the mark in certain Member States or third countries — Decisions not binding EU bodies (Council Regulation No 207/2009) (see para. 40)

5.                     Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community 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) (see para. 47)

Re:

ACTION brought against the decision of the First Board of Appeal of OHIM of 26 March 2013 (Case R 1072/2012-1) concerning an application for registration of the word mark LIFEDATA as a Community trade mark.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;

2. Orders Vita Phone GmbH to pay the costs.