ORDER OF THE GENERAL COURT (Eighth Chamber)
2 October 2014 (1)
(Community trade mark – Invalidity proceedings – Withdrawal of the application for a declaration of invalidity – No need to adjudicate)
In Case T-230/13,
HTC Sweden AB, established in Söderköping (Sweden), represented by G. Hasselblatt and D. Kipping, lawyers,
applicant,
v
Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) (OHIM), represented by D. Walicka, acting as Agent,
defendant,
the other party to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal of OHIM, intervener before the General Court, being
Vermop Salmon GmbH, established in Gilching (Germany), represented by S. M. Ring and W. von der Osten-Sacken, lawyers,
ACTION brought against the decision of the First Board of Appeal of OHIM of 31 January 2013 (joined Cases R 1873/2011-1 and R 1881/2011‑1), relating to invalidity proceedings between Vermop Salmon GmbH and HTC Sweden AB,
THE GENERAL COURT (Eighth Chamber),
Composed of D. Gratsias, President, M. Kancheva, C. Wetter (Rapporteur), Judges,
Registrar: E. Coulon,
makes the following
Order
1 By letter lodged at the Registry of the General Court on 4 August 2014, the applicant and the intervener informed the General Court of an agreement between themselves. Pursuant to that agreement, the intervener was withdrawing its application for a declaration of invalidity of the contested trade mark. Consequently, they requested the General Court to declare the proceedings devoid of purpose without issuing a decision on the costs, since the agreement included also a settlement with respect to the costs.
2 By letter lodged at the Registry of the General Court on 8 August 2014, the defendant informed the General Court that it raised no objection to the case being declared devoid of purpose and requested that it should not be ordered to bear the costs.
3 Pursuant to Article 113 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Court, it suffices in the present case to find that, in the light of the withdrawal of the application for a declaration of invalidity, 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 General Court.
5 In the present case, the General 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 (Eighth 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, 2 October 2014.