ORDER OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE SECOND CHAMBER OF THE GENERAL COURT
24 May 2024(*)
(Removal from the Register)
In Case T-162/23,
Sengül Ayhan eK, established in Essen (Germany), represented by M. Boden, lawyer,
applicant,
v
European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), represented by D. Stoyanova-Valchanova, acting as Agent,
defendant,
the other party to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal of EUIPO, intervener before the General Court, being
Pegase, established in Saint-Malo (France), represented by A. Messas, lawyer,
1 By its action under Article 263 TFEU, the applicant, Sengül Ayhan eK, seeks the annulment of the decision of the Fifth Board of Appeal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) of 10 January 2023 (Case R 1237/2022-5).
2 By letter lodged at the Court Registry on 8 April 2024, the applicant informed the Court, in accordance with Article 125 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Court, that it wished to discontinue proceedings. It did not seek an order as to costs.
3 By letter lodged at the Court Registry on 16 April 2024, the defendant informed the Court that it had no objection to the discontinuance of the proceedings and that it had not incurred any recoverable costs in the present case. Despite this, the defendant requested that the applicant be ordered to pay the costs in accordance with Article 136(1) of the Rules of Procedure or, in any case, that the defendant not be ordered to pay the costs.
4 By letter lodged at the Court Registry on 18 April 2024, the intervener informed the Court that it agreed with the discontinuance of the proceedings. It did not seek an order as to costs.
5 Article 136(1) of the Rules of Procedure provides that a party who discontinues or withdraws from proceedings shall be ordered to pay the costs if they have been applied for in the other party’s observations on the discontinuance. Further, pursuant to Article 136(4) of the Rules of Procedure, if costs are not claimed, the parties shall bear their own costs.
6 The defendant having admitted that since no oral hearing had been organised in the present case, it has incurred no recoverable costs, its request that the applicant be ordered to pay the costs in accordance with Article 136(1) of the Rules of Procedure is devoid of purpose.
7 The case should therefore be removed from the Register and the applicant and the intervener ordered to bear their own costs.
On those grounds,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE SECOND CHAMBER OF THE GENERAL COURT
hereby orders:
1. Case T-162/23 is removed from the Register of the General Court.
2. Sengül Ayhan eK and Pegase shall bear their own costs.
Luxembourg, 24 May 2024.