Judgment of the General Court of 1 September 2021 – Gruppe Nymphenburg Consult v EUIPO (Limbic® Types)

(Case T-96/20) ¹

(EU trade mark – Application for EU word mark Limbic® Types – Absolute grounds for refusal – Decision taken following the annulment of an earlier decision by the General Court – Referral of the case back to the Grand Board of Appeal – Article 7(1)(b) of Regulation No 207/2009 (now Article 7(1)(b) of Regulation 2017/1001 – Error of law – Examination of the facts of the Office’s own motion – Article 95(1) of Regulation 2017/1001 – Res judicata – Article 72(6) of Regulation 2017/1001 – Composition of the Grand Board of Appeal)

Language of the case: German

Parties

Applicant: Gruppe Nymphenburg Consult AG (Munich, Germany) (represented by: R. Kunze, lawyer)

Defendant: European Union Intellectual Property Office (represented by: D. Hanf, acting as Agent)

Re:

Action brought against the decision of the Grand Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 2 December 2019 (Case R 1276/2017-G), concerning an application for registration of the word sign Limbic® Types as an EU trade mark.

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

1.    Annuls the decision of the Grand Board of Appeal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) of 2 December 2019 (Case R 1276/2017-G);

2.    Orders EUIPO to pay the costs.

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¹     OJ C 191, 8.6.2020.