Industrial Property Law

The five-year period after which the proprietor of a trademark who does not make genuine use of it may lose such rights begins to run from the date of the last act of use of the trademark or, if it has never been used, from the date of its registration ( Art. L. 714-5, para. 1, IP Code), i.e., the date of publication of the registration in the Official Bulletin of Industrial Property (Art. R. 712- …

Starting point of the five-year period

The five-year period after which the proprietor of a trademark who does not make genuine use of it may lose such rights begins to run from the date of the last act of use of the trademark or, if it has never been used, from the date of its registration ( Art. L. 714-5, para. 1, IP Code), i.e., the date of publication of the registration in the Official Bulletin of Industrial Property (Art. R. 712-23 IP Code) . 

According to Article L. 716-3, paragraph 4, of the Intellectual Property Code, the proprietor is not subject to revocation if he or she begins or resumes genuine use of his or her trademark more than three months before the application for revocation , provided that prior knowledge of the possibility of an application for revocation was not acquired . The use begun or resumed must not be in isolation but must be capable of establishing the reality of the exploitation of the mark . The fact that the proprietor has filed a suit against a third party for infringement of his trademark does not establish his knowledge of the possibility of a revocation application .

The conditions for filing an application for revocation of trademark rights for lack of genuine use must be met at the time of the application. This is not the case if the mark has been registered for less than five years  or if the five-year time-limit for non-use has not fully expired at the date of the application  or at the date of the proceeding . The trial courts may not disregard evidence of use dating back more than three months prior to the commencement of the litigation without specifying the date of the application for revocation or explaining the reasons for their decision .

See, e.g., Cass. com, 16 February 2022, LawLex202200002551JBJ; Cass. com, 16 February 2010, LawLex202200000449JBJ; Cass. com, 26 September 2018, LawLex202200000529JB.

See Cass. com, 9 June 2009, LawLex202200000438JBJ; Cass. com, 27 June 2018, LawLex201800000992JBJ; Cass. com, 14 March 2006, LawLex202200000446JBJ; CA Paris, 23 November 2021, LawLex202100006039JBJ.

See e.g. Cass. com, 27 June 2018, LawLex201800000992JBJ.

Cass. com. 12 July 2005, LawLex202200003518JBJ.

Cass. com, 21 January 2014, LawLex201400000105JBJ. 

CA Bordeaux, 7 March 2022, LawLex202200002854JBJ. 

Cass. com, 25 April 2006, LawLex202200000009JBJ.

CA Paris, 30 January 2002, LawLex200200000557JBJ.

Cass. com, 6 May 2014, LawLex202200000390JBJ.

Industrial Property Law

192. Starting point of the five-year period

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192. Starting point of the five-year period

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

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