Judgment of the General Court (Second Chamber) of 25 March 2014 — Deutsche Bank v OHIM (Passion to Perform)

(Case T‑291/12)

Community trade mark — International registration designating the European Union — Word mark Passion to Perform — Trade mark consisting of an advertising slogan — Absolute grounds for refusal — No distinctive character — Article 7(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 — Equal treatment

1.                     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 — Flattering promotional formula (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(b)) (see para. 21)

2.                     Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks devoid of any distinctive character — Word mark Passion to Perform (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(b)) (see paras 33, 45-48)

3.                     Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Lack of distinctive character of a sign — Trade mark made up of several elements — Possible for the competent authority to examine each of the elements making up the trade mark — Need to take account of the overall perception of the combination by the relevant public (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(b)) (see para. 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. 59)

5.                     Community trade mark — Decisions of the Office — Principle of equal treatment — Principle of sound administration — OHIM’s previous decision-making practice (see para. 65)

Re:

ACTION brought against the decision of the Fourth Board of Appeal of OHIM of 24 April 2012 (Case R 2233/2011‑4) concerning an application for registration of word sign Passion to Perform as a Community trade mark.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;

2. Orders Deutsche Bank AG to pay the costs.