Keywords
Summary

Keywords

Approximation of laws – Trade marks – Directive 89/104 – Placing on the market by an exclusive licensee of gas bottles protected as a three-dimensional mark – Business activity of a competitor of the licensee consisting in the refilling of those bottles – Opposition by the licensee – Not permissible, by reason of the principle of exhaustion established by Article 7(1) of the directive, save where the exceptions set out in Article 7(2) of the directive apply

(Council Directive 89/104, Arts 5 and 7(1) and (2))

Summary

Articles 5 and 7 of First Council Directive 89/104 to approximate the laws of the Member States relating to trade marks must be interpreted as meaning that the holder of an exclusive licence for the use of composite gas bottles intended for re-use, the shape of which is protected as a three-dimensional mark and to which the holder has affixed its own name and logo that are registered as word and figurative marks, may not prevent those bottles, after consumers have purchased them and consumed the gas initially contained in them, from being exchanged by a third party, on payment, for composite bottles filled with gas which does not come from the holder of that licence, unless that holder is able to rely on a proper reason for the purposes of Article 7(2) of Directive 89/104.

The sale of the composite bottle exhausts the rights that the licensee of the right to the trade mark constituted by the shape of the composite bottle and proprietor of the marks affixed to that bottle derives from those marks and transfers to the purchaser the right to use that bottle freely, including the right to exchange it or have it refilled, once the original gas has been consumed, by an undertaking of his choice, that is to say, not only by that licensee and proprietor, but also by one of its competitors. The corollary of that right on the part of the purchaser is the right of those competitors, within the limits set out in Article 7(2) of Directive 89/104, to refill and exchange the empty bottles.

As regards the limits set out in Article 7(2) of Directive 89/104, the proprietor of a mark may, despite the putting on the market of goods bearing his mark, oppose further commercialisation of those goods where legitimate reasons for such opposition exist and especially where the condition of the goods is changed or impaired after they have been put on the market. The use of the adverb ‘especially’ in Article 7(2) of the directive indicates that alteration or impairment of the condition of goods bearing a mark is given only as an example of what may constitute legitimate reasons.

Such a legitimate reason therefore also exists when the use by a third party of a sign identical with, or similar to, a trade mark seriously damages the reputation of that mark or when that use is carried out in such a way as to give the impression that there is a commercial connection between the trade mark proprietor and that third party, and in particular that the third party is affiliated to the proprietor’s distribution network or that there is a special relationship between those two persons.

The labelling of the composite bottles and the circumstances in which they are exchanged must not lead the average consumer who is reasonably well informed and reasonably observant and circumspect to consider that there is a connection between the two undertakings at issue or that the gas used to refill those bottles comes from the trade mark proprietor. In order to assess whether such an erroneous impression is precluded, it is necessary to take into account the practices in that sector and, in particular, whether consumers are accustomed to the gas bottles being filled by other dealers. Furthermore, it appears to be reasonable to assume that a consumer who goes directly to a competitor either to exchange his empty gas bottle for a full bottle or to have his own bottle refilled is more readily in a position to be aware that there is no connection between that undertaking and the trade mark proprietor.

(see paras 35-37, 40, 42, operative part)