Judgment of the General Court of 6 July 2022 — Les Éditions P. Amaury v EUIPO — Golden Balls (BALLON D’OR)

(Case T-478/21) (1)

(EU trade mark - Revocation proceedings - EU word mark BALLON D’OR - Genuine use of the mark - Partial revocation - Article 51(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 (now Article 58(1)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001) - Proof of genuine use - Assessment of the evidence - Classification of the services)

(2022/C 340/53)

Language of the case: English

Parties

Applicant: Les Éditions P. Amaury (Boulogne-Billancourt, France) (represented by: T. de Haan and M. Laborde, lawyers)

Defendant: European Union Intellectual Property Office (represented by: M. Chylińska and J. Crespo Carrillo, acting as Agents)

Other party to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal of EUIPO, intervener before the General Court: Golden Balls Ltd (London, United Kingdom) (represented by: M. Hawkins, Solicitor, and T. Dolde and V. Pati, lawyers)

Re:

By its action under Article 263 TFEU, the applicant seeks annulment of the decision of the Fourth Board of Appeal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) of 7 June 2021 (Case R 1073/2020-4).

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

1.

Annuls the decision of the Fourth Board of Appeal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) of 7 June 2021 (Case R 1073/2020-4) in so far as it upheld the decision of the Cancellation Division to revoke the mark in respect of the following services in Class 41 of the Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks of 15 June 1957, as revised and amended: ‘entertainment’, ‘television entertainment’ and ‘organisation of competitions (entertainment)’;

2.	Dismisses the action as to the remainder;

3.	Orders each party to bear its own costs.

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(1)  OJ C 382, 20.9.2021.