Judgment of the General Court (Second Chamber) of 28 April 2015 —
Volkswagen v OHIM (EXTRA)
(Case T‑216/14)
Community trade mark — Application for Community word mark EXTRA — Mark comprised of an advertising slogan — Absolute ground for refusal — Lack of distinctive character — Article 7(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009
1. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks devoid of any distinctive character — Concept — Criteria for assessment (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(b)) (see paras 13-15)
2. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks devoid of any distinctive character — Marks constituted of advertising slogans — Distinctive character — Application of specific criteria for assessment — Not permissible (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(b)) (see paras 16-19)
3. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks devoid of any distinctive character — Word mark EXTRA (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(b)) (see paras 20-28)
4. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Sign without descriptive character — Fact not necessarily implying the distinctive character of the sign (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(b) and (c)) (see para. 26)
5. 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 (see paras 30-32)
Re:
| ACTION brought against the decision of the First Board of Appeal of OHIM of 6 February 2014 (Case R 1788/2013-1) relating to the application for registration of the word sign EXTRA as a Community trade mark. |
Operative part
The Court:
2. | | Orders Volkswagen AG to pay the costs. |