ORDER OF THE GENERAL COURT (Eighth Chamber)
29 September 2010 (1)
(Community trade mark – Period allowed for commencing proceedings – Manifest inadmissibility)
In Case T-253/10,
Selectron Process Controls Pvt. Ltd, established in Mumbai (India), represented by R. Kumar, Solicitor,
applicant,
v
Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) (OHIM),
defendant,
The other party to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal of OHIM, being
Finmeccanica SpA, established in Rome (Italy)
ACTION brought against the decision of the Second Board of Appeal of OHIM of 26 February 2010 (Case R 850/2009-2) relating to opposition proceedings between Selectron Process and Finmeccanica,
THE GENERAL COURT (Eighth Chamber),
composed of L. Truchot, President, M. E. Martins Ribeiro, (Rapporteur) and H. Kanninen, Judges,
Registrar: E. Coulon,
makes the following
Order
Procedure and form of order sought by the applicant
1 By application lodged at the Registry of the Court on 2 June 2010, the applicant brought the present action.
2 The applicant claims that the Court should:
– annul the contested decision;
– order OHIM to consider the appeal filled against the decision of the Opposition Division of 27 May 2009 on opposition No B001213471 and to process in the normal course;
– allow the applicant to pay the appeal fee in relation with the notice of appeal introduced to OHIM.
Law
3 Under Article 111 of the Rules of Procedure, where the action is manifestly inadmissible the Court may, without taking further steps in the proceedings, give a decision on the action by reasoned order.
4 In the present case, the Court considers that it has sufficient information from the documents in the file and has decided, pursuant to that article, to give a decision without taking further steps in the proceedings.
5 Under Article 65(5) of Council Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 of 26 February 2009 on the Community trade mark (OJ L 78, p. 1) an action against a decision of a Board of Appeal of OHIM must be brought within two months of the date of notification of that decision. According to Article 102(2) of the Rules of Procedure, prescribed time-limits are to be extended on account of distance by a single period of 10 days.
6 According to settled case law, that period of time is a matter of public policy, since it was established in order to ensure that legal positions are clear and certain and to avoid any discrimination or arbitrary treatment in the administration of justice, and the Court must ascertain of its own motion whether that time-limit was observed (see, to that effect, Case C‑246/95 Coen [1997] ECR I‑403, paragraph 21, and Joined Cases T‑121/96 and T‑151/96 Mutual Aid Administration Services v Commission [1997] ECR II‑1355, paragraphs 38 and 39).
7 In the present case, it is apparent from the documents in the file that the contested decision was notified to the applicant on 17 March 2010. In accordance with Article 101(1)(a) and (b) and Article 102(2) of the Rules of procedure, the time-limit for bringing proceedings expired on 27 May 2010, including the extension on account of distance.
8 In addition, the applicant has not established or even pleaded the existence of unforeseeable circumstances or of force majeure which would allow the Court to vary the time-limit in question on the basis of the second paragraph of Article 45 of the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union, which applies to the procedure before the General Court by virtue of Article 53 of that Statute.
9 It follows from all of the above considerations that the action must be dismissed as manifestly inadmissible and there is no need for it to be served on the defendant.
Costs
10 As the present order was adopted prior to service of the application on the defendant and before the latter could have incurred costs, it is sufficient to decide that the applicant must bear its own costs pursuant to Article 87(1) of the Rules of Procedure.
On those grounds,
THE GENERAL COURT (Eighth Chamber)
hereby orders:
1. The action is dismissed.
2. The applicant shall pay its own costs.
Luxembourg, 29 September 2010.