Chapter II: Acquisition of Trade Mark Rights

Any filing shall give rise to verification by the Institute: 1° That the application for registration and the documents annexed thereto comply with the requirements of the laws and regulations in force; 2° That the mark may not be validly registered pursuant to 1° to 10° of Article L. 711-2; 3° That, where applicable, the trade mark may not be refused registration pursuant to Articles L. 715-4 and L. 715-9.

1° If the application does not comply with the provisions of Article R. 712-10, the applicant shall be notified of this with reasons. The applicant is given a period in which to rectify the filing or contest the Institute’s objections. In the absence of regularization or observations allowing the objection to be lifted, the application is rejected. The notification may be accompanied by a proposal for regularisation. This proposal is…

The forfeiture statement provided for in Article L. 712-10 is applicable to the time limits provided for in this Title, with the exception of those mentioned in Articles R. 712-15, R. 712-16-1 and R. 712-18, 1° of article R. 712-24 and articles R. 716-5, R. 716-6, R. 716-11, R. 717-2, R. 717-5 and R. 717-8. The request must be made within two months of the cessation of the impediment and…

Failing an express decision within the time limit mentioned in Article R. 712-12-1, the application is deemed to have been accepted.

The opposition to registration filed under the conditions provided for in Articles L. 712-4 and L. 712-4-1 may be filed by the opponent acting personally or through an agent meeting the conditions provided for in the second paragraph of Article R. 712-2. These procedures also apply to the observations submitted in response to this request. Where it is submitted by several objectors, a common agent meeting the same conditions must…

The opposition shall be filed in writing in accordance with the procedures laid down by decision of the Director General of the National Institute of Industrial Property. It shall include: 1° The identity of the opposing party, together with such particulars as may establish the existence, nature, origin and scope of his rights; 2° The references of the application for registration against which the opposition is lodged, together with an…

Any opposition filed after the deadline, or filed by a person who was not entitled to do so, or which does not comply with the conditions set out in articles R. 712-13 and R. 712-14, is declared inadmissible. Where the opposition is based on several prior rights, it is declared inadmissible only if all of these rights do not comply with the conditions set out in articles R. 712-13 and…

When an opposition is referred to it, the National Institute of Industrial Property shall observe and observe itself the principle of contradiction. It may not base its decision on pleas, explanations or documents put forward or produced by the parties without the latter having been given the opportunity to debate them in adversarial proceedings. The parties to the opposition are required to expressly state their claims and the factual and…

Subject to inadmissibility raised ex officio by the Institute, the examination phase referred to in Article L. 712-5 begins on expiry of the additional period referred to in the last paragraph of Article R. 712-14. Subject to the cases of suspension or termination of the procedure provided for in Articles R. 712-17 and R. 712-18, the opposition shall be investigated in accordance with the following procedure: 1° The opposition shall…