31However, it is also apparent from the case-law that, in the circumstances in which OHIM may be called upon to take account of the national law of the Member State in which an earlier right on which the opposition is based is protected, it must, of its own motion and by whatever means considered appropriate, obtain information about that national law, where such information is necessary to assess the applicability of the ground for refusal of registration in question; accordingly, OHIM must take into consideration, in addition to the facts which have been expressly put forward by the parties to the opposition proceedings, facts which are well known, that is, facts which are likely to be known by anyone or which may be learnt from generally accessible sources (see judgment of 20 April 2005 in Atomic Austria v OHIM — Fabricas Agrupadas de Muñecas de Onil (ATOMIC BLITZ), T‑318/03, ECR, EU:T:2005:136, paragraph 35 and the case-law cited; see also, by analogy, judgment of 13 September 2012 in National Lottery Commission v OHIM — Mediatek Italia and De Gregorio (Representation of a hand), T‑404/10, EU:T:2012:423, paragraph 20 and the case-law cited, upheld on this point by judgment of 27 March 2014 in OHIM v National Lottery Commission, C‑530/12 P, ECR, EU:C:2014:186, paragraph 45). OHIM is under an obligation to obtain, of its own motion, information about national law where it already has before it information relating to national law, either in the form of claims as to its content, or in the form of evidence submitted and whose probative value has been claimed (judgment of 20 March 2013 in El Corte Inglés v OHIM — Chez Gerard (CLUB GOURMET), T‑571/11, ECR, EU:T:2013:145, paragraph 41).
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