Judgment of the General Court of 15 November 2023 – Portal Golf Gestión v EUIPO – Augusta National (imaster.golf)

(Case T-677/22) ¹

(EU trade mark – Opposition proceedings – Application for EU figurative mark imaster.golf – International registration of the earlier word mark MASTERS – Relative ground for refusal – Article 8(5) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 – Repute – Similarity – Link – Unfair advantage – Lack of due cause – Article 95(2) of Regulation 2017/1001)

Language of the case: English

Parties

Applicant: Portal Golf Gestión, SA (Madrid, Spain) (represented by: J. Garrido Pastor, lawyer)

Defendant: European Union Intellectual Property Office (represented by: D. Stoyanova-Valchanova and V. Ruzek, acting as Agents)

Other party to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal of EUIPO, intervener before the General Court: Augusta National, Inc. (Augusta, Georgia, United States) (represented by H. Koenraad, lawyer)

Re:

By its action based on Article 263 TFEU, the applicant seeks annulment of the decision of the First Board of Appeal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) of 30 August 2022 (Case R 2204/2021-1).

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

Dismisses the action;

Orders Portal Golf Gestión, SA to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by Augusta National, Inc.;

Orders the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to bear its own costs.

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¹     OJ C 15, 16.1.2023.