Judgment_paragraph 115 · The Coca-Cola Company v European Union Intellectual Property Office (T-61/16)

115In that regard, it should also be recalled that, according to settled case-law, there is functional continuity between the different jurisdictions of EUIPO, namely the examiner, the Opposition Division, the division responsible for the administration of trade marks and legal issues and the Cancellation Divisions on the one hand, and the Boards of Appeal on the other. It follows from that functional continuity between the departments of EUIPO that, in the review of decisions taken by the departments of EUIPO hearing the application that the Boards of Appeal must undertake, the Boards of Appeal are required to base their decision on all the matters of fact and of law which the parties concerned introduced either in the proceedings before the department which heard the application at first instance or in the appeal. The review undertaken by the Boards of Appeal is not limited to the lawfulness of the contested decision, but, by virtue of the devolutive effect of the appeal proceedings, it requires a reappraisal of the dispute as a whole, since the Boards of Appeal must re-examine in full the initial application and take into account evidence produced in due time (see judgment of 6 November 2007, SAEME v OHIM — Racke (REVIAN’s), T‑407/05, EU:T:2007:329, paragraphs 49 to 51 and the case-law cited). Thus, it follows from Article 64(1) of Regulation No 207/2009 (now Article 71(1) of Regulation 2017/1001) that, through the effect of the appeal before it, the Board of Appeal is called upon to carry out a full re-examination of the merits of the opposition, in both law and fact (judgments of 13 March 2007, OHIM v Kaul, C‑29/05 P, EU:C:2007:162, paragraph 57, and of 13 December 2016, Guiral Broto v EUIPO — Gastro & Soul (Café del Sol), T‑548/15, not published, EU:T:2016:720, paragraph 21).