B9 10291. Gerecht EU, 18 oktober 2011, zaak T-304/10, dm-drogerie markt tegen OHIM / Semtee.
Merkenrecht. EU-oppositieprocedure o.g.v. het internationale woordmerk BALEA tegen de aanvraag tot inschrijving van het beeldmerk bevattende het woordbestanddeel ‘caldea’ (voor schoonheidsproducten en IE-licentiëring ). Oppositie afgewezen. De tekens stemmen onvoldoende overeen en verwarringsgevaar is niet aannemelijk. Zeker niet aangezien schoonheidsproducten met zorg worden uitgekozen.
58. In addition, it should be noted, in response to the applicant’s argument that the goods in question are not very expensive, that consumers tend, on the contrary, to be attentive in the acquisition of body care products, on grounds of aesthetic considerations or personal preferences, sensitivity, allergies, type of skin and hair and so forth, as well as the expected effect of the products. It is, therefore, unlikely that those consumers would leave purchase choice to the vagaries of an ‘imperfect recollection’. On the contrary, it is far more probable that considerable care will be taken in acquiring the goods in question.
59. Accordingly, in view of the fact, first, that the signs at issue are visually and conceptually different, second, that the significance of those differences is further increased by the dominance of the visual perception of the signs at issue by the average consumer, who tends to be attentive, and third, that there exists only a low degree of phonetic similarity, the Court finds that the Board of Appeal did not err in concluding, at paragraph 22 of the contested decision, that the signs at issue were globally dissimilar.
Lees het arrest hier.
