Judgment_paragraph 37 · Viking Gas A/S v Kosan Gas A/S (C-46/10)

37The Court has therefore already held that such a legitimate reason 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 (see, to that effect, Case C-558/08 Portakabin and Portakabin [2010] ECR I-6963, paragraphs 79 and 80 and the case-law cited).