Judgment of the General Court (Second Chamber) of 11 December 2012 — Fomanu v OHIM (Qualität hat Zukunft)
(Case T‑22/12)
Community trade mark — Application for Community word mark Qualität hat Zukunft — Absolute grounds 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. 13)
2. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks devoid of any distinctive character — Assessment of distinctive character (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(b)) (see para. 14)
3. 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 — Distinctive character — Application of specific criteria for assessment — Not permissible (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(b)) (see paras 15-19)
4. 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 paras 20, 22)
5. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks devoid of any distinctive character — Word mark Qualität hat Zukunft (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(b)) (see paras 24-30)
Re:
| ACTION brought against the decision of the First Board of Appeal of OHIM of 27 October 2011 (Case R 1518/2011‑1) concerning an application for registration of the word sign Qualität hat Zukunft as a Community trade mark. |
Operative part
The Court:
2. | | Orders Fomanu AG to pay the costs. |