Luxembourg, 16/07/2007 (Agence Europe) - In its rulings made on Wednesday 11 July, the Court of First Instance annulled two decisions made by the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OAMI). These rulings effectively reject two calls made to oppose the registration of the following marks: one for a brand of clothes “Piraña” and the other for the “Lura-Flex” mark, a furniture spring mechanism. The OAMI will now have to reconsider the opposition proceedings in light of the Court's observations.
In Case T-192/04, the Spanish company FLABESA opposed three requests made in 2000 by the firm Leggetlatt & Platt (USA) to register the trademark, “Lura-Flex, for springs used in the manufacture of cushions, sofas, mattresses and other furnishings. It claimed that FLABESA had submitted this trademark in Spain in 1998. The OAMI Appeals Chamber rejected this opposition proceeding because it had only submitted its claim in Spanish and not in the language used in proceedings, namely, English. However, as the Court ruling underlined, the documentation in question was in fact submitted in two languages: in Spanish, within the accepted deadline (before 29 December 2001) and in English a few months late (August 2002). The Court decided that because the final refusal decision was only made in 2003, this delay had not in any way hindered the OAMI Appeals Chamber's assessment capacity, and it is now obliged to carry out a further evaluation, taking into account the documentation provided by FLABESA/Flex Equipos.
In case T-443/05, the trademark for “pirañam diseño original juan bolaños” submitted by Juan Bolaños Sabri was opposed by the Spanish supermarket chain El Corte Inglés SA for its resemblance to the “PIRANHA” brand previously registered by El Corte Inglès for a range of products. The OAMI Appeals Chamber did not establish any resemblance to the products concerned, but the Court indicated in its ruling , however, that there was an overlap, particularly in the clothing, footwear and hat products line. As well as the Court's observation, a link was also identified between the average consumer and the “leather and imitation leather” categories in the “pirañam diseño original juan bolaños” brand, a link that could lead to confusion. OAMI is therefore obliged to further examine the opposition proceedings lodged by El Corte, in light of the Court's interpretation. (cd)