Judgment_paragraph 90 · Kenzo Tsujimoto v European Union Intellectual Property Office (C-85/16 P, C-86/16 P)

90Nevertheless, as is clear from Article 8(5) of Regulation No 207/2009, the user of a sign similar to a mark with reputation may rely on ‘due cause’ for the purposes of using that sign, that being an expression of the general objective of that regulation, which is to strike a balance between, on the one hand, the interests of the proprietor of a trade mark in safeguarding the essential function of that mark and, on the other, the interests of a third party in using, in the course of trade, such a sign for the purposes of denoting the goods and services that it markets (see, to that effect, judgment of 6 February 2014, Leidseplein Beheer and de Vries, C‑65/12, EU:C:2014:49, paragraphs 41 and 43).