General Court (First Chamber), 1 March 2016, in case T‑40/09 (Advance Magazine Publishers, Inc. v. OHIM and Selecciones Americanas, SA)
Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 −Article 42(2) − Genuine use of earlier mark
To examine whether a contested trade mark has been put to genuine use, an overall assessment must be carried out, which takes into account all the relevant factors of the particular case. That assessment implies a degree of interdependence between the factors taken into account. Thus, the fact that commercial volume achieved under the mark was not high may be offset by the fact that use of the mark was extensive or very regular, and vice versa. Moreover, it cannot be ruled out that an accumulation of items of evidence may allow the necessary facts to be established, even though each of those items of evidence, taken individually, would be insufficient to constitute proof of the accuracy of those facts.
categoria:European Case Law