OPPOSITION No B 2 817 891

Olin Corporation, 190 Carondelet Plaza, Suite 1530, Clayton, St. Louis, Missouri 63105, United States of America (opponent), represented by Kilburn & Strode LLP, 20 Red Lion Street, London  WC1R 4PJ, United Kingdom (professional representative)

a g a i n s t

Rheinmetall Air Defence AG, Birchstr. 155, 8050 Zürich, Switzerland (applicant), represented by Hübsch & Weil, Patent- Und Rechtsanwaltskanzlei, Patentanwalt Dirk Hübsch, Rechtsanwalt Christian Weil, Partnerschaft Mbb, Oststr. 9-11, 50996 Köln, Germany (professional representative).

On 03/07/2017, the Opposition Division takes the following

DECISION:

1.        Opposition No B 2 817 891 is rejected in its entirety.

2.        The opponent bears the costs, fixed at EUR 300.

REASONS:

The opponent filed an opposition against some of the goods of European Union trade mark application No 15 756 166, namely against some of the goods in Class 13. The opposition is based on Benelux trade mark registration No 56 029, Spanish trade mark registration No 864 455 and Italian trade mark registration No 1 145 487. The opponent invoked Article 8(1)(b) EUTMR.

RANGER	Fieldranger
Earlier trade marks	Contested sign

SUBSTANTIATION

According to Article 76(1) EUTMR, in proceedings before it the Office will examine the facts of its own motion; however, in proceedings relating to relative grounds for refusal of registration, the Office is restricted in this examination to the facts, evidence and arguments provided by the parties and the relief sought.

It follows that the Office cannot take into account any alleged rights for which the opponent does not submit appropriate evidence.

According to Rule 19(1) EUTMIR, the Office will give the opposing party the opportunity to present the facts, evidence and arguments in support of its opposition or to complete any facts, evidence or arguments that have already been submitted together with the notice of opposition, within a time limit specified by the Office.

According to Rule 19(2) EUTMIR, within the period referred to above, the opposing party must also file proof of the existence, validity and scope of protection of its earlier mark or earlier right, as well as evidence proving its entitlement to file the opposition.

In particular, if the opposition is based on a registered trade mark which is not a European Union trade mark, the opposing party must provide a copy of the relevant registration certificate and, as the case may be, of the latest renewal certificate, showing that the term of protection of the trade mark extends beyond the time limit referred to in paragraph 1 and any extension thereof, or equivalent documents emanating from the administration by which the trade mark was registered — Rule 19(2)(a)(ii) EUTMIR.

In the present case the notice of opposition was not accompanied by any evidence as regards the earlier trade marks on which the opposition is based.

On 20/12/2016 the opponent was given two months, commencing after the ending of the cooling-off period, to submit the abovementioned material. This time limit expired on 25/04/2017.

On 02/05/2017 the Opposition Division informed the parties that since the opponent failed to substantiate its earlier rights, it would rule on the opposition on the basis of the evidence before it and no further observations should be submitted.

On 08/05/2017, that is, only after the expiry of the abovementioned time limit to substantiate the opposition, the opponent submitted the required evidence.

According to Rule 19(4) EUTMIR, the Office will not take into account written submissions or documents, or parts thereof, that have not been submitted, or that have not been translated into the language of the proceedings, within the time limit set by the Office.

According to Rule 20(1) EUTMIR, if until expiry of the period referred to in Rule 19(1) EUTMIR the opposing party has not proven the existence, validity and scope of protection of its earlier mark or earlier right, as well as its entitlement to file the opposition, the opposition will be rejected as unfounded.

The opposition must therefore be rejected as unfounded.

COSTS

According to Article 85(1) EUTMR, the losing party in opposition proceedings must bear the fees and costs incurred by the other party.

Since the opponent is the losing party, it must bear the costs incurred by the applicant in the course of these proceedings.

According to Rule 94(3) and Rule 94(7)(d)(ii) EUTMIR, the costs to be paid to the applicant are the costs of representation which are to be fixed on the basis of the maximum rate set therein.

The Opposition Division

Benjamin WINSNER

Frédérique SULPICE

Catherine MEDINA

According to Article 59 EUTMR, any party adversely affected by this decision has a right to appeal against this decision. According to Article 60 EUTMR, notice of appeal must be filed in writing at the Office within two months of the date of notification of this decision. It must be filed in the language of the proceedings in which the decision subject to appeal was taken. Furthermore, a written statement of the grounds of appeal must be filed within four months of the same date. The notice of appeal will be deemed to be filed only when the appeal fee of EUR 720 has been paid.

The amount determined in the fixation of the costs may only be reviewed by a decision of the Opposition Division on request. According to Rule 94(4) EUTMIR, such a request must be filed within one month from the date of notification of this fixation of costs and will be deemed to be filed only when the review fee of EUR 100 (Annex I A(33) EUTMR) has been paid.