Action brought on 17 April 2014 – The Smiley Company v OHIM (Shape of a face in the form of a star)

(Case T-244/14)

Language of the case: English

Parties

Applicant: The Smiley Company SPRL (Brussels, Belgium) (represented by: A. Freitag, lawyer)

Defendant: Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs)

Form of order sought

The applicant claims that the Court should:

Annul the decision of the First Board of Appeal of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) of 16 January 2014 given in Case R 838/2013-1;

Order the defendant to pay the costs of proceedings.

Pleas in law and main arguments

Community trade mark concerned: Tri-dimensional mark representing the shape of a face in the form of a star for goods in classes 29 and 30 – Community trade mark application No 11 168 937

Decision of the Examiner: Found the mark applied for not eligible for registration pursuant to Article 7(1)(b) of the Regulation No 207/2009

Decision of the Board of Appeal: Dismissed the appeal

Pleas in law: Infringement of Article 7(1)(b) of the Regulation No 207/2009