France’s trademark registration authority

The trademark authority in France is the National Industrial Property Office (INTI: INSTITUT NATIONAL DE LAPROPRIETE INEUSTRIELLE). In addition to its headquarters in Paris, the Bureau also has seven branches in large and medium-sized cities such as Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Nancy, Nice, Rennes, and Strasbourg. The departments that accept trademark registration are the National Industrial Property Office and various commercial courts. Therefore, there are two ways to register a trademark in France: first, the trademark applicant registers with the National Industrial Property Office (Paris headquarters or one of the seven branches mentioned above); second, registers with the Commercial Court (TRIBUNAL DE COMMERCE) where the company is located . These two registration methods have the same legal effect.

Marks that cannot be used as trademarks

1. Marks that violate public order and public morality; 2. Marks that violate the provisions of the Paris Convention on prohibited marks Marks;

2. Marks that are descriptive of the content or quality of goods or services; 4. Marks that are likely to deceive the public.

How to apply for registration of a French trademark

Application documents to be submitted

1. An application form;

2. A trademark drawing copies, with specifications ranging from 4 After receiving the trademark registration application form, the trademark will be reviewed to determine whether to approve its registration.

Trademark legality regulations

After receiving the application, the national industrial property rights have a period of 4 months to review whether the trademark violates the relevant regulations and whether the trademark text and graphics are suitable for as a trademark.

Trademark legality review

The National Industrial Property Office will publish the trademark application within 6 weeks after receiving it. All companies that think they have registered the same or similar trademark can apply objection. The procedure is to go to the National Industrial Property Office to fill in an "OPPOSITIONAL'ENREGISTIEMENT" and explain in detail your reasons and basis.

Whether the application form is filled in correctly

If the State Industrial Property Office believes that the applied trademark does not meet the above two standards, it will refuse to approve the trademark. If a trademark application is rejected by the National Industrial Property Office, the applicant files an appeal with the Court of Appeal (COUR D'APPEL) and requests the National Industrial Property Office to re-examine the application.

French Trademark Registration Certificate

If the National Industrial Property Office approves a trademark registration application, it will issue a "Trademark Registration Number" and "Trademark Registration Certificate" to the applicant, and Announced to the public. The date when a trademark becomes effective shall be based on the application received by the National Industrial Property Office or the Commercial Court. If a trademark is finally approved for registration, its effective date will be calculated from the time the application is received by the Industrial Property Office or the Commercial Court.

French trademark protection period

The French trademark protection period is 10 years. It can be renewed within six months after expiration.

Note: The French Parliament passed a basic trademark protection amendment in December 1991, which stipulates that the legal statute of limitations for prosecution of trademark infringement is 5 years. That is to say, if a trademark is legally registered and becomes effective after 5 years , other companies can no longer sue for infringement on the grounds that the trademark is similar to their own.

Trademark opposition application

Trademark opposition is clearly stipulated in the Trademark Law and its detailed rules. It is a legal procedure for publicly soliciting public opinions on a preliminary trademark review. Its purpose is to conduct it fairly and openly. Confirm trademark rights and improve the quality of trademark registration review.

The scope of trademark objections is very wide, including that the initially approved trademark is identical or similar to the previously applied trademark, or that the initially approved trademark violates the prohibited provisions of the Trademark Law or the trademark is not distinctive. nature, and also includes applicants not having the qualifications to apply.

Anyone can file a trademark objection, that is, it can be a trademark registrant or a non-trademark registrant, it can be an enterprise, an institution, or an individual, or it can be a legal person, It can also be an unincorporated person.

The opposition period for a trademark is within three months from the date of announcement of a preliminary approved trademark. The date of application for trademark opposition shall be the date of the application form from the Trademark Office. If the last day of the objection period falls on a holiday, it can be postponed to the first working day after the holiday when the application is received.

The trademark opponent must submit a "Trademark Objection Letter", in which he must clearly fill in the applicant of the opposed trademark, the product category, the date of the preliminary examination announcement of the trademark, the announcement issue number and the preliminary examination number. .

On the contrary, when someone else raises an objection to their trademark registration, the opposed party can make a reply within the time limit.