General Court of the European Union

The General Court of the European Union is the court of first instance of the Court of Justice of the European Union, established in 1989 and governed by Article 256 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. In intellectual property matters, it hears actions brought against decisions of the Boards of Appeal of the EUIPO concerning European Union trade marks and Community designs, as well as against those of the Community Plant Variety Office, which makes it the most prolific court of the Union in this field.

Jurisdiction over trade marks and designs

Article 72 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 provides for an action before the General Court against decisions of the EUIPO Boards of Appeal, within two months of their notification, on grounds of lack of competence, infringement of an essential procedural requirement, infringement of the Treaty, of the Regulation or of any rule of law relating to their application, or misuse of power. The General Court may annul or alter the contested decision. It reviews the legality of the decision in the light of the material submitted to the Board of Appeal, new facts and evidence being in principle inadmissible. The action is open to the parties to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal, and the EUIPO is the defendant. The judgments of the General Court supply most of the case law on absolute grounds for refusal, likelihood of confusion, proof of genuine use and reputation.

Other powers

The General Court hears at first instance actions for annulment and for failure to act brought by natural and legal persons against acts of the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union, actions for damages and trade mark disputes, but not preliminary references, which fall to the Court of Justice. Actions in the fields of competition law, State aid and trade measures also come before it. It is composed of two judges per Member State, sits in chambers of three or five judges, and may rule as a single judge in limited cases.

Appeal to the Court of Justice

Judgments of the General Court may be appealed to the Court of Justice, on points of law only, within two months. Since 2019, appeals against decisions of the General Court on actions against decisions of the EUIPO Boards of Appeal have been subject to a prior admission mechanism: the Court of Justice allows the appeal to proceed only if it raises an issue that is significant with respect to the unity, consistency or development of EU law, which leads to the dismissal of the vast majority of requests. In practice, the General Court is therefore the final judge of most disputes concerning European Union trade marks and Community designs.

Key points

The General Court of the European Union hears actions against decisions of the EUIPO Boards of Appeal, within two months, on the basis of the file submitted to the office. Its judgments can be challenged before the Court of Justice only on points of law and after a highly selective admission filter. The evidence should be assembled in full during the proceedings before the EUIPO, since it can no longer be supplemented before the General Court.

---

This glossary entry is general in scope and does not constitute legal advice.

Dhenne Avocats is a patent litigation firm. Matters outside that field, such as trade marks, designs, copyright and IT contracts, are handled by practitioners the firm works with regularly, and by the firm itself when they arise in a patent dispute.

Intellectual property attorney · Tell us about your situation