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Examination of languages other than official EU languages. E. Zaera 11/10/2011. LEGISLATION CTM Regulation largely silent on this point. Article 7(2): an absolute grounds existing in a “part” of the EU suffice to refuse or invalidate a CTM. OHIM’s CURRENT PRACTICE
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Examination of languages other than official EU languages E. Zaera 11/10/2011
LEGISLATION • CTM Regulation largely silent on this point. • Article 7(2): an absolute grounds existing in a “part” of the EU suffice to refuse or invalidate a CTM.
OHIM’s CURRENT PRACTICE • Absolute grounds for refusal: only the 23 EU official languages are taken into account (in principle). • Relative grounds for refusal: other languages can/may be taken into account.
RECENT JUDGMENTS (I) - T-72/11 ESPETEC • After third party observations - CTMA rejected (cl. 29). • Court: reference to “part of the EU” in Article 7(2) CTMR can correspond to a territory narrower than a MS and does not necessarily refer to the official languages of a MS and/or the EU. Thus, a term which is descriptive in a language which is co-official in part of a MS − but is not one of the EU official languages− falls within the prohibition of Article 7(1)(c) (para. 35-37)
RECENT JUDGMENTS (II) - T-534/10 Hellim/Halloumi • Court: while Turkish is not an official language of the EU, it is one of the official languages of the Republic of Cyprus. Therefore, Turkish is understood and spoken by part of the population of Cyprus (para. 38)
RECENT JUDGMENTS (III) - T-357/10 Karuna/Corona • Court: Even if the relevant public [Baltic countries] know that the Russian word ‘корона’ means ‘crown’, there is no evidence to show that the relevant public will associate ‘корона’ in the Cyrillic alphabet – or ‘korona’, the equivalent term in the Latin alphabet – with the word element ‘corona’ of the sign applied for, which is a foreign word without meaning in Estonian, Latvian or Lithuanian (para 35).
ISSUES RAISED BY THE JUDGMENTS • Espetec: the Court rejects an application taking into account a non EU language which is co-official at regional level in the relevant MS • Hellim: the Court, in an opposition, takes into account a non EU language which is co-official at national level in the relevant MS • Corona: the Court seems to be indirectly recognising that a foreign language can be taken into account in RG.
