Judgment_paragraph 46 · M/S. Indeutsch International v European Union Intellectual Property Office (T-20/16)

46The applicant’s statement, mentioned by the Board of Appeal in paragraph 21 of the contested decision, according to which it had intended to apply the chevron pattern along the surface of the knitting needles and crochet hooks, is not capable of changing those conclusions. As can be seen from paragraphs 33 and 34 above, the entry of a mark in the register is intended to allow the Board of Appeal to exercise its powers and to safeguard the interests of the parties to a dispute, but also to inform third parties of the specific nature of the registered rights and therefore to determine the subject of the protection afforded. Consequently, even if the applicant’s statement could be understood as implying that it does not oppose the Board of Appeal examining the distinctive character of the mark at issue by taking account of the appearance of the goods indicated in paragraph 21 of the contested decision, it is irrelevant in the present case. Equally irrelevant is, in any event, the circumstance, raised by the applicant at the hearing, that the applicant probably affixed the mark at issue, in its registered form, to the packaging of goods which it marketed. In that respect, it suffices to point out that the Board of Appeal did not assess the distinctive character of the mark at issue in view of that registered form. The lawfulness of the contested decision is to be assessed in view only of the reasons supporting its operative part.