In Case T-3/12, Mr. Heinrich Kreyenberg had applied for registration of the following mark for goods and services in classes 9, 16, 35, 36, 39, 41, 42, 44 and 45

The mark was registered despite the written observations submitted by the European Commission which then initiated invalidity proceedings on the basis of Article 7(1) h), i) and c) CTMR and various protected emblems of the EU, including the following: 

The Cancellation Division dismissed the invalidity application. The EU commission successfully appealed before the Board of Appeal which annulled the trade mark on the basis of the “communication on the use of the€ symbol” (represented above)  and Article 7 (1) i) CTMR which states “trade marks which include badges, emblems or escutcheons other than those covered by Article 6ter of the Paris Convention and which are of particular public interest, unless the consent of the competent authority to their registration has been given”.

The BoA found that the contested trademark contained the semi-crown of stars which suggested the idea of the EU and due to the variety of goods and services belonging to the competence of the EU, the consumer could be mislead to believe there is a link the CTM proprietor and EU institutions. In addition, the verbal element “member of Euro experts” reinforced that impression as it referred to an “official approved” member. The General Court dismissed the appeal by the CTM proprietor, and confirmed that
Article 7 (1) i) like Art. 7 (1) h) protects not only identical representations of protected symbols but also an altered imitation. Therefore, the inclusion of the EURO symbol which according to Art. 3 (4) of the TEU, identifies the legal entity of the EU, constitutes a violation of the CTMR.