French Intellectual Property Code

Opposition based on an earlier trade mark that has been registered for more than five years shall be rejected where the opponent, at the request of the proprietor of the application for registration, cannot establish: 1° That the earlier trade mark has been put to genuine use, in respect of the goods or services on which the opposition is based, during the five years preceding the filing date or priority…

If a registration has been applied for either in fraud of the rights of a third party or in breach of a legal or contractual obligation, the person who believes he or she has a right to the mark may claim ownership of it in court. Unless the applicant is acting in bad faith, an action to claim ownership is barred by five years from the publication of the application…

If a trade mark protected in a State party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property has been registered in France in the name of the agent or representative of the proprietor of that trade mark without the authorisation of the proprietor, the latter may: 1° Oppose the use of the trade mark by his agent or representative; 2° Request the assignment of the trade mark to…

The Director General of the Institut national de la propriété industrielle shall reject the application for registration: 1° If it does not satisfy the conditions set out in Article L. 712-2 ; 2° If the trade mark does not meet the conditions set out in 1° and 5° to 10° of Article L. 711-2 ; 3° If the trade mark is devoid of distinctive character pursuant to 2°, 3° and…

The applicant may request that a trade mark be registered notwithstanding opposition to it if he can show that such registration is indispensable for the protection of the trade mark abroad. If the opposition is subsequently found to be well founded, the registration decision shall be reversed in whole or in part.

A trademark registration may be renewed if it does not involve any modification of the sign or extension of the list of goods or services. The owner of the trade mark shall be informed by the National Institute of Industrial Property of the expiry of the registration, without the Institute being liable for the absence of such information. The renewal shall be effected and published in accordance with the procedures…

An applicant who has not complied with the time limits mentioned in Article L. 712-2, and who provides evidence of an impediment that is not attributable to his will, fault or negligence, may, under conditions laid down by decree in the Conseil d’Etat, be relieved of any disqualifications he may have incurred.

Subject to the provisions of international conventions to which France is a party, a foreigner who is neither established nor domiciled on the national territory shall benefit from the provisions of this Book on condition that he proves that he has duly filed the mark or obtained its registration in the country of his domicile or establishment and that that country grants reciprocal protection to French marks. .

The right of priority provided for in Article 4 of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property is extended to any trademark previously filed in a foreign country. Subject to the provisions of international conventions to which France is a party, the right of priority is subject to recognition by the said country of the same right when French trademarks are filed.

Trade unions may register their trademarks under the conditions laid down in Articles L. 2134-1 and L. 2134-2 of the Labour Code.