Appeal against judgment of the General Court regarding genuine use of the wordmark NN dismissed by reasoned order
24-01-2018 Print this page
Appeal against judgment of the General Court regarding genuine use of the wordmark NN dismissed by reasoned order: grounds of appeal are either manifestly inadmissible or manifestly unfounded.
Decision by reasoned order to dismiss the appeal against the decision of the General Court of June 28th 2017 in whole after hearing the Advocate General (pursuant to article 181 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice). The General Court upheld the Board of Appeal's finding that the addition of the word element "nuñez i navarro" to the earlier wordmark NN altered the distinctive character of that mark and that Josel consequently did not demonstrate genuine use of that mark.
According to the Advocate General, the grounds of appeal are either manifestly inadmissible or manifestly unfounded. In this regard, the Advocate General - amongst other things - states that General Court was not obliged to stay the proceedings taking into account the proceedings in Spain, given hat the General Court is not bound by a decision at Member State level and has a discretionary power to suspend it. Moreover, the AG says that the appellants complaint that the General Court failed to examine documents in which the letters "nn" are used without the word elements "nuñez i navarro" and without the word "hotels", is manifestly inadmissible since it is only in the context of the appeal before the Court that the appellant claims, for the first time, at least in a sufficiently clear and precise manner, that there had been use of the earlier Spanish mark nn associated with a logo in the form of a circle without other elements. The CJEU adds that even if the appellant relied, in the first instance, in a sufficiently clear and precise manner, on the use of the earlier Spanish mark nn associated with a logo in the form of a circle without other elements, this could not have altered the outcome of the case. On that last ground as well as those relied on by the Advocate General, the appeal is dismissed.
IPPT20180117, CJEU, Josel v EUIPO
