Judgment of the Court of First Instance (First Chamber) of 12 November 2008 – ecoblue v OHIM – Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (Ecoblue)
(Case T-281/07)
Community trade mark – Opposition proceedings – Application for Community word mark Ecoblue – Earlier Community word mark BLUE – Relative ground for refusal – Likelihood of confusion − Similarity of the signs – Article 8(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 40/94
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 (Council Regulation No 40/94, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paras 24-25, 37)
Re:
| ACTION brought against the decision of the First Board of Appeal of OHIM of 25 April 2007 (Case R 844/2006-1), concerning opposition proceedings between Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, SA and ecoblue AG. |
Information relating to the case
Applicant for the Community trade mark: | ecoblue AG |
Community trade mark sought: | Word mark Ecoblue for services in Classes 35, 36 and 38 – Application No 2871598 |
Proprietor of the mark or sign cited in the opposition proceedings: | Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, SA |
Marks or signs cited in support of the opposition: | Word marks BLUE (Community mark No 1345974), BLUE JOVEN (Community mark No 2065100), BLUE BBVA (Community mark No 2065621), TARJETA BLUE BBVA (Community mark No 2277291), QNTAME BLUE (Community mark No 2391878), HIPOTECA BLUE (Community mark No 2392181), HIPOTECA BLUE JOVEN (Community mark No 2794998) and MOTOR BLUE JOVEN (Community mark No 3060878) for goods and services in Classes 9, 36 and 38 |
Decision of the Opposition Division: | Opposition upheld and registration refused |
Decision of the Board of Appeal: | Appeal dismissed |
Operative part
The Court:
2. | | Orders ecoblue AG to pay the costs. |