Judgment_paragraph 33 · Petco Animal Supplies Stores, Inc. v Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) (T-664/13)

33In that regard, it is apparent from the case-law that, in exercising its discretion with respect to the suspension of proceedings, the Board of Appeal must comply with the general principles governing procedural fairness within a European Union governed by the rule of law. It follows that, in exercising that discretion, the Board of Appeal must take into account not only the interests of the party whose Community trade mark is contested, but also those of the other parties. The decision whether or not to suspend the proceedings must follow upon a weighing of the competing interests (judgments in ATLAS, cited in paragraph 31 above, EU:T:2011:213, paragraph 76, and KAISERHOFF, cited in paragraph 19 above, EU:T:2014:985, paragraph 33).