Judgment of the General Court (First Chamber) of 18 March 2016 —
El Corte Inglés v OHIM — STD Tekstil (MOTORTOWN)
(Case T‑785/14)
Community trade mark — Opposition proceedings — Application for Community figurative mark MOTORTOWN — Earlier international figurative mark M MOTOR — Relative ground for refusal — Likelihood of confusion — Article 8(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009
1. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Relative grounds for refusal — Opposition by the proprietor of an earlier identical or similar mark registered for identical or similar goods or services — Likelihood of confusion with the earlier mark — Criteria for assessment (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paras 21, 70)
2. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Relative grounds for refusal — Opposition by the proprietor of an earlier identical or similar mark registered for identical or similar goods or services — Likelihood of confusion with the earlier mark — Figurative marks MOTORTOWN and M MOTOR (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paras 22, 23, 29, 74)
3. Community trade mark — Appeals procedure — Appeal against a decision of the Opposition Division of OHIM — Decision of the Board of Appeal going beyond the subject-matter of the opposition — Unlawfulness (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Arts 42(5) and 76(1)) (see paras 30, 31)
4. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Relative grounds for refusal — Opposition by the proprietor of an earlier identical or similar mark registered for identical or similar goods or services — Similarity of the marks concerned — Criteria for assessment — Composite mark (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paras 39, 48)
5. Community trade mark — Decisions of the Office — Principle of equal treatment — Principle of sound administration — OHIM’s previous decision-making practice — Principle of legality — Need for a strict and complete examination in each particular case (Council Regulation No 207/2009) (see paras 57-59, 76)
Re:
| ACTION brought against the decision of the Second Board of Appeal of OHIM of 8 September 2014 (Case R 1960/2013-2), relating to opposition proceedings between STD Tekstil Limited Sirketi and El Corte Inglés, SA. |
Operative part
The Court:
2. | | Orders El Corte Inglés, SA to pay the costs. |