Judgment of the General Court (First Chamber) of 23 October 2015 —
Hansen v OHIM (WIN365)

(Case T‑264/14)

Community trade mark — Application for Community word mark WIN365 — 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 (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(b)) (see para. 11)

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 — Word mark WIN365 (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(b)) (see paras 23-25, 41)

3.                     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. 30)

4.                     Community trade mark — Decisions of the Office — Principle of equal treatment — Principle of sound administration — OHIM’s previous decision-making practice (see para. 38)

Re:

ACTION brought against the decision of the Fourth Board of Appeal of OHIM of 20 February 2014 (Case R 908/2013-4), concerning an application for registration of the word sign WIN365 as a Community trade mark.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;

2. Orders Mr Robert Hansen to pay the costs.