28.8.2010 |
EN |
Official Journal of the European Union |
C 234/10 |
Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 8 July 2010 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Hoge Raad der Nederlanden (Netherlands)) — Portakabin Ltd, Portakabin B.V. v Primakabin B.V.
(Case C-558/08) (1)
(Trade marks - Keyword advertising on the internet - Directive 89/104/EEC - Articles 5 to 7 - Display of advertisements on the basis of a keyword identical with a trade mark - Display of advertisements on the basis of keywords reproducing a trade mark with ‘minor spelling mistakes’ - Advertising for second-hand goods - Goods manufactured and placed on the market by the proprietor of the trade mark - Exhaustion of the rights conferred by the trade mark - Affixing of labels bearing the name of the reseller and removal of labels bearing the trade mark - Advertising, on the basis of another person’s trade mark, for second-hand goods including, in addition to goods manufactured by the proprietor of the trade mark, goods from another source)
2010/C 234/15
Language of the case: Dutch
Referring court
Hoge Raad der Nederlanden
Parties to the main proceedings
Applicants: Portakabin Ltd, Portakabin B.V.
Defendant: Primakabin B.V.
Re:
Reference for a preliminary ruling — Hoge Raad der Nederlanden — Interpretation of Articles 5(1)(a), 5(5), 6(1)(b) and (c) and 7 of First Council Directive 89/104/EEC of 21 December 1988 to approximate the laws of the Member States relating to trade marks (OJ 1989 L 40, p. 1) — Right of the proprietor of a trade mark to oppose unlawful use of his trade mark — Use — Concept — Use of the trade mark as a search term for the purpose of carrying out, via a search engine, an internet search for goods covered by that mark — Display of a link to the website of a reseller of goods covered by the trade mark
Operative part of the judgment
1. |
Article 5(1) of First Council Directive 89/104/EEC of 21 December 1988 to approximate the laws of the Member States relating to trade marks, as amended by the Agreement on the European Economic Area of 2 May 1992, must be interpreted as meaning that a trade mark proprietor is entitled to prohibit an advertiser from advertising, on the basis of a keyword identical with, or similar to, that mark, which that advertiser has selected for an internet referencing service without the consent of the proprietor, in relation to goods or services identical to those in respect of which the mark is registered, where that advertising does not enable average internet users, or enables them only with difficulty, to ascertain whether the goods or services referred to by the ad originate from the proprietor of the trade mark or from an undertaking economically linked to it or, on the contrary, originate from a third party. |
2. |
Article 6 of Directive 89/104, as amended by the Agreement on the European Economic Area of 2 May 1992, must be interpreted as meaning that, where use by advertisers of signs identical with, or similar to, trade marks as keywords for an internet referencing service is liable to be prohibited pursuant to Article 5 of that directive, those advertisers cannot, in general, rely on the exception provided for in Article 6(1) in order to avoid such a prohibition. It is, however, for the national court to determine, in the light of the particular circumstances of the case, whether or not there was, in fact, a use, within the terms of Article 6(1), which could be regarded as having been made in accordance with honest practices in industrial or commercial matters. |
3. |
Article 7 of Directive 89/104, as amended by the Agreement on the European Economic Area of 2 May 1992, must be interpreted as meaning that a trade mark proprietor is not entitled to prohibit an advertiser from advertising — on the basis of a sign identical with, or similar to, that trade mark, which that advertiser chose as a keyword for an internet referencing service without the consent of that proprietor — the resale of goods manufactured and placed on the market in the European Economic Area by that proprietor or with his consent, unless there is a legitimate reason, within the meaning of Article 7(2), which justifies him opposing that advertising, such as use of that sign which gives the impression that the reseller and the trade mark proprietor are economically linked or use which is seriously detrimental to the reputation of the mark. The national court, which must assess whether or not there is such a legitimate reason in the case before it:
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