Judgment of the Court (Tenth Chamber) of 17 September 2020 – EUIPO v Messi Cuccittini
(Joined Cases C‑449/18 P and C‑474/18 P) (1)
(Appeal – EU trade mark – Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 – Article 8(1)(b) – Opposition proceedings – Application for EU figurative mark MESSI – Earlier EU word marks MASSI – Partial refusal of registration)
1. 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
(Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b))
(see paras 45-47)
2. Appeal – Grounds – Incorrect assessment of the facts and evidence – Inadmissibility – Review by the Court of Justice of the assessment of the facts and evidence – Possible only where the clear sense of the evidence has been distorted
(Art. 256(1) TFEU; Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 58, first para.)
(see para. 55)
3. EU trade mark – Procedural provisions – Examination of the facts of EUIPO’s own motion – Scope – No obligation to prove matters within common knowledge – Dispute before the General Court – Review by the Court of Justice of the assessment by the General Court of whether matters were within common knowledge – Possible only where the clear sense of the evidence has been distorted
(Art. 256(1) TFEU; Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 58, first para.)
(see para. 57)
4. EU trade mark – Appeals procedure – Action before the EU judicature – Jurisdiction of the General Court – Review of the lawfulness of decisions of the Boards of Appeal – Re-examination of the facts in the light of evidence not previously submitted before EUIPO bodies – Not included – Arguments relating to matters within common knowledge – Included
(Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 65)
(see paras 71-73)
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 – Whether conceptual differences may neutralise visual or aural similarities – Conditions
(Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b))
(see paras 84-87)
Operative part
The Court:
2. | | Orders the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini in Case C‑449/18 P; |
3. | | Orders J.M.-E.V. e hijos SRL to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini and by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in Case C‑474/18 P. |