29The exclusive right under Article 5(1)(a) of Directive 89/104 was conferred in order to enable the trade mark proprietor to protect his specific interests as proprietor, that is, to ensure that the trade mark can fulfil its function. The exercise of that right must therefore be reserved to cases in which a third party’s use of the sign affects or is liable to affect the functions of the trade mark (see, inter alia, Case C-206/01 Arsenal Football Club [2002] ECR I-10273, paragraph 51; Case C-487/07 L’Oréal and Others [2009] ECR I-5185, paragraph 58; and Google France and Google, paragraph 75).
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