Notice for the OJ
Action brought on 25 February 2002 by Kabushiki Kaisha Kenwood against the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market
A further party to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal was Karstadt Quelle Aktiengesellschaft
(Case T-58/02)
Language of the case: English
An action against the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market was brought before the Court of First Instance of the European Communities on 25 February 2002 by Kabushiki Kaisha Kenwood, represented by Mr Emiliano Garayar Gutiérrez, Mr Joaquín García-Romanillos Valverde and Ms Anna García Castillo of Gómez-Acebo & Pombo, Brussels (Belgium).
The applicant claims that the Court should:
- annul the contested decision no. R0612/1999-2
listnum "WP List 1" l 1order the defendant to pay the costs
Pleas in law and main arguments:
Applicant for the Community trade mark:Kabushiki Kaisha Kenwood (also trading as Kenwood Corporation)
The Community trade mark concerned: The word mark "DualMags" for goods in classes 9, 37 and 38.
Proprietor of the right to the trade mark
or sign asserted by way of opposition in the
opposition proceedings:Karstadt Quelle Aktiengesellschaft
Trade mark or sign asserted by way of
opposition in the opposition proceedings:The national German word mark "Dual" for certain goods in class 9.
Decision of the Opposition Division:Partial rejection of the Community trade mark application because of likelihood of confusion for certain goods in class 9.
Decision of the Board of Appeal:Dismissal of the appeal by the applicant for the Community trade mark.
Grounds of claim: Violation of Article 8.1 (b) of Council Regulation 40/94
1 since there is no risk of confusion. According to the applicant, the word 'dual' should be considered as a descriptive complement to the distinctive trade mark 'Mags'. The opposing mark should further be considered as a weak trade mark due to its descriptive nature and the word 'dual' is a common element in several trade marks.