Judgment of the General Court (Second Chamber) of 25 June 2013 — Aldi v OHIM — Dialcos (dialdi)

(Case T‑505/11)

Community trade mark — Opposition proceedings — Application for Community figurative trade mark dialdi — Earlier Community word mark ALDI — Likelihood of confusion — Article 8(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009

1.                     Community trade mark — Appeals procedure — Action before the EU judicature — Jurisdiction of the General Court — Re-evaluation of the facts in the light of evidence produced for the first time before it — Exclusion (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 135(4); Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 65) (see para. 19)

2.                     Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community 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 — Assessment of the likelihood of confusion — Criteria (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paras 23-26)

3.                     Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community 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 — Figurative mark dialdi and word mark ALDI (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paras 39, 45, 46, 48, 70, 75, 78, 89-92)

4.                     Community trade mark — Appeals procedure — Action before the EU judicature — Possibility for the General Court to alter the contested decision — Limits (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 65(2) and (3)) (see paras 43, 44)

5.                     Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community 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 — Complex mark (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paras 50, 51)

6.                     Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community 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 — Possibility of a similarity between a figurative mark and a word mark (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see para. 52)

Re:

ACTION brought against the decision of the Second Board of Appeal of OHIM of 5 July 2011 (Case R 1097/2010-2), concerning opposition proceedings between Aldi GmbH & Co. KG and Dialcos SpA.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Annuls the decision of the Second Board of Appeal of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) (OHIM) of 5 July 2011 (Case R 1097/2010-2);

2. Orders OHIM to pay its own costs and also those incurred by Aldi GmbH & Co. KG;

3. Orders Dialcos SpA to pay its own costs.