(AGENPARL) – gio 07 novembre 2024 Newsletter
Week XLVI – XLVII: 11th to 22nd November 2024
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Week XLVI: 11th to 15th November
Wednesday 13th November
General Court
Judgment in Case T-426/23 Chiquita Brands v EUIPO – Compagnie financière de
participation (Representation of a blue and yellow oval)
(Intellectual, industrial and commercial property – Trade marks)
Chiquita Brands (Florida, USA) has applied to the European Union Intellectual Property
Office (EUIPO) to register the following figurative sign as a Union trademark for a
number of foods, including fresh fruit
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In May 2020, Compagnie financière de participation (Marseille, France) asked the
EUIPO to declare the trade mark invalid. In its view, the mark was devoid of distinctive
character.
The trade mark was declared invalid in May 2023, but only in respect of fresh fruit,
including bananas. The EUIPO found that the mark was devoid of distinctive character
for these goods and that Chiquita Brands had not established that it had acquired
distinctive character through use, which would have prevented its invalidation.
Chiquita Brands is challenging the EUIPO’s decision before the General Court of the
European Union.
Communications Directorate
Press and Information unit
curia.europa.eu
Newsletter
Week XLVI – XLVII: 11th to 22nd November 2024
All times are 9:30
Background Documents T-426/23
unless otherwise
stated.
Don’t forget to
check the diary
There will be a press release for this case.
Wednesday 13th November
on our website
for details of
General Court
other cases.
Judgment in Case T-82/24 Administration of the State Border Guard Service of
Ukraine v EUIPO (RUSSIAN WARSHIP, GO F**K YOURSELF)
(Intellectual, industrial and commercial property – Trade marks)
The Administration of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (Kiev, Ukraine) brings
an action before the General Court of the European Union for annulment of the
decision of the Office of the European Union for Intellectual Property (EUIPO) of
December 1, 2023 refusing to register the following figurative sign as a trade mark of
the European Union:
The mark is said to be a war cry uttered by the Ukrainian border guard on the Isle of
Serpents on February 24, 2022, the first day of the large-scale Russian invasion of
Ukraine. Registration had been applied for in respect of a very wide range of goods, as
well as publishing, education, leisure and sports services.
The EUIPO refused registration on the grounds that the mark was a political slogan
devoid of distinctive character for the goods and services in question.
Background Documents T-82/24
There will be a press release for this case.
Wednesday 13th November
General Court
Judgment in Cases T-58/20 NetCologne v Commission, T-64/20 Deutsche Telekom
v Commission and T-69/20 Tele Columbus v Commission
(Competition – Concentrations between undertakings – Telecommunications)
Newsletter
Week XLVI – XLVII: 11th to 22nd November 2024
In October 2018, Vodafone Group PLC, a United Kingdom company operating in twelve
Member States, including the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary and Romania and
sixteen Länder in Germany, specialising in mobile telecommunications, television and
internet services, announced to the European Commission its intention to acquire sole
control of Liberty Global’s telecommunications activities in Germany, the Czech
Republic, Hungary and Romania.
Liberty Global PLC, established in the UK, offers television, broadband internet and
mobile services in various Member States. It operates in Germany under the name
Unitymedia GmbH, a company offering television and broadband Internet services
and in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania under the name UPC.
In Germany, this transaction consisted of the acquisition of 100% of the shares of
Unitymedia.
Having initially raised serious doubts as to the compatibility of this transaction with
the internal market, the Commission finally approved it in July 2019 (see summary of
Commission Decision C(2019) 5187 final of 18 July 2019 declaring the concentration by
which Vodafone Group plc acquires certain assets of Liberty Global plc compatible
with the internal market and the EEA Agreement (Case COMP/M.8864 Vodafone/Certain Liberty Global Assets).
This clearance was granted on condition that Vodafone complied with its
commitments to remedy the competition concerns identified by the Commission.
Three German companies – Deutsche Telekom AG, Tele Columbus AG and NetCologne
Gesellschaft für Telekommunikation AG – applied to the General Court of the
European Union to have the decision annulled.
Fearing Vodafone’s dominant position, in particular on the markets for the retail
provision of television signal transmission services in Germany, they consider that the
Commission committed manifest errors of assessment as to the competitive effects of
the transaction in question.
Background Documents T-58/20
Background Documents T-64/20
Background Documents T-69/20
There will be one press release for these cases.
Week XLVII: 18th to 22nd November
Tuesday 19th November
Newsletter
Week XLVI – XLVII: 11th to 22nd November 2024
Judgment in Cases C-808/21 Commission v Czech Republic (Eligibility and
membership of a political party) and C-814/21 Commission v Poland (Eligibility
and membership of a political party)
(Citizenship of the Union)
Czech and Polish legislation confers the right to become a member of a political party
solely on nationals. Consequently, according to the European Commission, citizens of
the EU who reside in these Member States, but are not nationals of them, cannot
exercise their right to stand as a candidate in municipal and European Parliament
elections, enshrined in Union law, under the same conditions as Czech and Polish
nationals.
Taking the view that such a refusal constitutes a difference in treatment based on