Judgment_paragraph 44 · Internet Consulting GmbH v European Union Intellectual Property Office (T-11/15)

44What is more, to the extent that the applicant essentially maintains that the geographical name is not capable of describing the characteristics of the services in question, it is sufficient to recall that the purpose of Article 7(1)(c) of Regulation No 207/2009 is to prevent an economic player from monopolising a geographical indication of origin to the detriment of its competitors. Even though, in principle, the Grand Board of Appeal cannot refuse registration under Article 7(1)(c) of Regulation No 207/2009 until it has examined the relevance of the geographical indication of origin for such competitive relationships, by considering the association between that origin and the goods and services for which the mark is sought, the depth of that examination may nevertheless vary according to several factors, such as the extent, the reputation or the nature of the geographical indication of origin in question. The likelihood of a geographical indication of origin influencing competitive relationships is strong in the case of a large region with a reputation for the quality of a wide range of goods or services, and is weak in the case of a well-defined place the reputation of which is limited to a restricted number of goods or services (see, to that effect, judgment of 15 December 2011, PASSIONATELY SWISS, T‑377/09, not published, EU:T:2011:753, paragraph 41).

Internet Consulting GmbH v European Union Intellectual Property Office (T-11/15)

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