Judgment_paragraph 65 · Hickies, Inc. v European Union Intellectual Property Office (T-573/18)

65The Board of Appeal was also correct to downplay the importance of the design awards relied on by the applicant. Indeed, according to the case-law, the fact that goods benefit from a high quality design does not necessarily mean that a mark consisting of the three-dimensional shape of those goods enables ab initio those goods to be distinguished from those of other undertakings for the purposes of Article 7(1)(b) of Regulation 2017/1001 (see judgment of 12 September 2007, Neumann v OHIM (Shape of a microphone head), T‑358/04, EU:T:2007:263, paragraph 64 and the case-law cited). In addition, as EUIPO argues, the experts awarding those prizes may focus on very small differences, while the relevant public, with average attention in the present case, will not carry out an analytical examination of the shape at issue.…