«(Community trade mark – Opposition procedure – Earlier national word marks BUD – Application for Community word mark BUDMEN – Relative ground for refusal – Article 8(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 40/94)»

Community trade mark – Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark – Absolute grounds for refusal – Opposition by the proprietor of an identical or similar earlier mark registered for identical or similar goods or services – Risk of confusion with the earlier mark – Word mark BUD and word mark BUDMEN (Council Regulation No 40/94, Art. 8(1)(b)) For the public in Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom, there is a visual, phonetic and conceptual similarity between the word mark BUDMEN, registration of which as a Community trade mark is applied for in respect of clothing, footwear and headgear in Class 25 of the Nice Agreement and the word mark BUD, previously registered in Denmark in respect of all products in Class 25 and in Ireland and the United Kingdom in respect of a series of products within the same class and comprising those referred to in the trade mark application.Given the similarity and the nature of the products covered by the conflicting marks, the differences between them are not sufficient to dispel the likelihood of confusion in the mind of the relevant public. The mark applied for thus falls within the prohibition imposed by Article 8(1)(b) of Regulation No 40/94 on the Community trade mark.see paras 47-55, 58-59, 65

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE (Second Chamber) 3 July 2003 (1)

((Community trade mark – Opposition procedure – Earlier national word marks BUD – Application for Community word mark BUDMEN – Relative ground for refusal – Article 8(1)(b) of Regulation No 40/94))

In Case T-129/01,

applicant,

v

defendant,

ACTION brought against the decision of the First Board of Appeal of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) of 20 March 2001 (Case R 230/2000-1), concerning an opposition procedure between Anheuser-Busch Inc. and José Alejandro SL,

THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (Second Chamber),

composed of: N.J. Forwood, President, J. Pirrung and A.W.H. Meij, Judges,

Registrar: J. Palacio González, Principal Administrator,

having regard to the written procedure and further to the hearing on 22 January 2003,

gives the following

Arguments of the parties

Findings of the Court

On those grounds,

THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE (Second Chamber)

hereby:

Forwood

Pirrung

Meij

Delivered in open court in Luxembourg on 3 July 2003.

H. Jung

N.J. Forwood

Registrar

President