Judgment of the General Court (Fourth Chamber) of 23 October 2015 —
TrekStor v OHIM (SmartTV Station)
(Case T‑649/13)
Community trade mark — Application for Community word mark SmartTV Station — Absolute grounds for refusal — Lack of distinctive character — Descriptive character — Article 7(1)(b) and (c) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 — Article 7(3) of Regulation No 207/2009
1. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of designating the characteristics of a product or service — Concept (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paras 19, 20)
2. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of designating the characteristics of a product or service — Assessment of the descriptive nature of a sign — Criteria (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paras 21, 23)
3. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of designating the characteristics of a product or service — Word mark SmartTV Station (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paras 22, 39, 43-45)
4. Community trade mark — Decisions of the Office — Legality — OHIM’s previous decision-making practice — Principle of non-discrimination — Irrelevant (Council Regulation No 207/2009) (see paras 36-38)
5. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of designating the characteristics of a product or service — Concept — Mark composed of a word or neologism resulting from a combination of elements (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see para. 42)
6. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Trade marks which are devoid of distinctive character, descriptive or commonplace — Exception — Distinctive character acquired through use — Criteria for assessment (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(b) to (d)) (see paras 66, 67)
Re:
| ACTION brought against the decision of the Fourth Board of Appeal of OHIM of 1 October 2013 (Case R 128/2013-4), concerning an application for registration of the word sign SmartTV Station as a Community trade mark. |
Operative part
The Court:
2. | | Orders TrekStor Ltd to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) (OHIM). |