Industrial property

Distinctive signs - Trade marks

Affixed to a product or associated with a service, a trade mark serves to distinguish this product or service from those of the competition.

A trade mark is registered for a period of 10 years renewable indefinitely.  In order to be protectable, the trade mark must be distinctive, lawful and available.
IT IS THEREFORE ADVISABLE TO CARRY OUT A PRIOR ART SEARCH BEFORE FILING A TRADE MARK.

The trade mark may be in various forms: verbal, figurative or semi-figurative (verbal element associated with a figurative element), a combination of colours, a three-dimensional representation, etc. It is associated with products or services for which protection is sought.

A French trade mark covers only French territory. To broaden protection, it is possible to carry out national, regional or international filings. The European Union trade mark protects the sign associated with the products and services designated throughout the European Union. An international trade mark broadens protection in more 80 counties. The extension of the protection to other countries is possible at any time.

A registered trade mark confers on its proprietor the right to prohibit the reproduction or imitation of the sign for identical or similar products or services.

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