Judgment_paragraph 42 · Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG v European Union Intellectual Property Office (T-303/03)

42In the present case, it must be held, first, that the affirmation and the list, in tabular form, of the products marketed were drawn up by the applicant itself. It should be noted in that regard that, in order to assess the evidential value of a document, regard should be had first and foremost to the credibility of the account it contains. It is then necessary to take account, in particular, of the person from whom the document originates, the circumstances in which it came into being, the person to whom it was addressed and whether, on its face, the document appears sound and reliable (see, to that effect and by way of analogy, Joined Cases T-25/95, T-26/95, T-30/95 to T-32/95, T-34/95 to T-39/95, T-42/95 to T-46/95, T-48/95, T-50/95 to T-65/95, T-68/95 to T-71/95, T-87/95, T-88/95, T-103/95 and T-104/95 Cimenteries CBR and Others v Commission [2000] ECR II-491, paragraph 1838; see also Opinion of Advocate General Léger in Case C-57/02 P Acerinox v Commission [2005] not yet published in the ECR, point 202). There is nothing in either Regulation No 40/94 or Regulation No 2868/95 to support the conclusion that the evidential value of items of evidence of the use of the mark, including affirmations, must be assessed in the light of the national law of a Member State.

Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG v European Union Intellectual Property Office (T-303/03)

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