Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 20 September 2017

The Tea Board v European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO)

Appeal — EU trade mark — Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 — Article 8(1)(b) — Word marks and figurative marks including the word element ‘darjeeling’ or ‘darjeeling collection de lingerie’ — Opposition by the proprietor of EU collective marks — Collective marks consisting of the geographical indication ‘Darjeeling’ — Article 66(2) — Essential function — Conflict with applications for registration of individual trade marks — Likelihood of confusion — Definition — Similarity of goods and services — Criteria for assessment — Article 8(5)

Joined Cases C-673/15 P to C-676/15 P



Top of the page Documents in the Case
Document Date Name of the parties Subject-matter Curia EUR-Lex Autres Liens
Judgment (OJ)
27/10/2017 The Tea Board v EUIPO
Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
- Trade marks
  • Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
  • - Trade marks
View pdf documents
Judgment
ECLI:EU:C:2017:702		 20/09/2017 The Tea Board v EUIPO
Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
- Trade marks
  • Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
  • - Trade marks
EUR-Lex text EUR-Lex bilingual text
Judgment (Summary)
ECLI:EU:C:2017:702		 20/09/2017 The Tea Board v EUIPO
Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
- Trade marks
  • Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
  • - Trade marks
EUR-Lex text EUR-Lex bilingual text
Application (OJ)
04/03/2016 The Tea Board v EUIPO
Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
- Trade marks
  • Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
  • - Trade marks
View pdf documents
Opinion
ECLI:EU:C:2017:411		 31/05/2017 The Tea Board v EUIPO
Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
- Trade marks
  • Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
  • - Trade marks
EUR-Lex text EUR-Lex bilingual text
Top of the page Legal analysis of the decision or of the case

Reports of Cases

published in the electronic Reports of Cases (Court Reports - general)

Subject-matter

Information not available

Systematic classification scheme

1.
-
4 Internal policy of the European Union
  4.11 Approximation of laws
    4.11.03 European Union trade mark
      4.11.03.02 Relative grounds for refusal
        4.11.03.02.02 Likelihood of confusion with an earlier mark
          4.11.03.02.02.00 General
-
4 Internal policy of the European Union
  4.11 Approximation of laws
    4.11.03 European Union trade mark
      4.11.03.02 Relative grounds for refusal
        4.11.03.02.02 Likelihood of confusion with an earlier mark
          4.11.03.02.02.02 Similarity between goods or services
-
4 Internal policy of the European Union
  4.11 Approximation of laws
    4.11.03 European Union trade mark
      4.11.03.03 Other questions of substantive law
        4.11.03.03.08 Collective marks
-
4 Internal policy of the European Union
  4.11 Approximation of laws
    4.11.03 European Union trade mark
      4.11.03.01 Absolute grounds for refusal
        4.11.03.01.03 Descriptive marks
          4.11.03.01.03.02
-
4 Internal policy of the European Union
  4.11 Approximation of laws
    4.11.03 European Union trade mark
      4.11.03.03 Other questions of substantive law
        4.11.03.03.08 Collective marks
-
4 Internal policy of the European Union
  4.11 Approximation of laws
    4.11.03 European Union trade mark
      4.11.03.02 Relative grounds for refusal
        4.11.03.02.07 Signs examined
          4.11.03.02.07.05 Earlier trade mark which has a reputation


Citations of case-law or legislation

References in grounds of judgment

Operative part

Opinion


Dates

Date of the lodging of the application initiating proceedings

  • 14/12/2015

Date of the Opinion

  • 31/05/2017

Date of the hearing

Information not available

Date of delivery

20/09/2017


References

Publication in the Official Journal

Judgment: OJ C 382 from 13.11.2017, p.13

Application: OJ C 106 from 21.03.2016, p.11

Name of the parties

The Tea Board v EUIPO

Notes on Academic Writings

  1. Nacsa, Mónika: Kártérítés az ésszerű időn túli ítélethozatal miatt, Versenytükör 2017 1. szám p.85-94 (HU)
  2. Grabrucker, Marianne: Der EuGH schnürt am Paket zur Gewährleistungsmarke: Gedanken zur "Baumwollblüte" in "Darjeeling", Gewerblicher Rechtsschutz und Urheberrecht 2018 p.53-57 (DE)
  3. Clark, Birgit ; Schmitz, Philip ; Zalewska, Alicja: No Tea for Two? European Court of Justice Confirms the Essential Function of an EU Collective Mark is not to Distinguish Goods According to Geographical Origin, European Intellectual Property Review 2018 p.199-205 (EN)



Procedural Analysis Information

Source of the question referred for a preliminary ruling

Information not available

Subject-matter

  • Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
  • - Trade marks

Provisions of national law referred to

Information not available

Provisions of international law referred to

Information not available

Procedure and result

  • Actions for annulment
  • Appeals : dismissal on substantive grounds

Formation of the Court

deuxième chambre (Cour)

Judge-Rapporteur

Ilešič

Advocate General

Mengozzi

Language(s) of the Case

  • English

Language(s) of the Opinion

  • French