Judgment of the General Court (Seventh Chamber) of 17 January 2013 — Solar-Fabrik v OHIM (Premium XL and Premium L)

(Cases T‑582/11 and T‑583/11)

Community trade mark — Applications for the Community word marks Premium XL and Premium L — 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 — Criteria for assessment (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(b)) (see paras 13-15)

2.                     Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks devoid of any distinctive character — Word marks Premium XL and Premium L (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(b)) (see paras 17-22)

3.                     Community trade mark — Decisions of the Office — Principle of equal treatment — Principle of sound administration — OHIM’s previous decision-making practice (see para. 31)

Re:

Two actions brought against two decisions of the First Board of Appeal of OHIM of 1 September 2011 (Case R 245/2011‑1 and Case R 246/2011‑1 respectively), concerning applications for registration as Community trade marks of the word sign Premium XL and the word sign Premium L respectively.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Joins Cases T‑582/11 and T‑583/11 for the purposes of the judgment;

2. Dismisses the actions;

3. Orders Solar-Fabrik AG für Produktion und Vertrieb von solartechnischen Produkten to pay the costs.