Industrial Property Law

The registration of a mark confers on its owner a property right in the mark for the goods or services designated by it ( Article L. 713-1, para. 1, IP Code). The proprietor holds a right in rem over the trademark . As a proprietary right, the trademark right does not allow its proprietor to bring an action for injury to his or her honor (reputation) or the esteem of the individual or legal entity …

Real and absolute right

The registration of a mark confers on its owner a property right in the mark for the goods or services designated by it ( Article L. 713-1, para. 1, IP Code). The proprietor holds a right in rem over the trademark . As a proprietary right, the trademark right does not allow its proprietor to bring an action for injury to his or her honor (reputation) or the esteem of the individual or legal entity .

The absolute nature of the proprietor's right to his or her trademark confers the right to bring proceedings against any person who infringes the trademark  throughout the French territory, whether such person is acting in good or bad faith , in particular against competitors who seek to abuse the position and reputation of the trademark by selling products that are improperly bearing the trademark . This right is available even if the trademark is not particularly distinctive . Nevertheless, the trademark proprietor can only prohibit the use of a sign identical or similar to its mark if such use is made “as a trademark”, i.e. to guarantee the origin of the goods or services concerned . Specifically, it is not possible to oppose the use of a mark in its ordinary meaning , in order to inform a potential purchaser of the nature of a work being offered for sale  or to describe a tourist location . On the other hand, the use of a name attributed to a furniture product in order to distinguish and individualize this product in the eyes of consumers is a use of a trademark that can be prohibited by its proprietor, rather than a mere reference to it .

CA Paris, 7 June 1990, LawLex200200001867JBJ.

Cass. civ., 8 April 2008, LawLex200800000393JBJ: the use of registered trademarks in a campaign to save the environment only affects the activities and services of their proprietors

Cass. com., 23 January 2019, LawLex202200000126JBJ, which states that the presence of the mark and the marketing of the goods in a store dedicated to that mark is not such as to remove from the disputed sign its function as an indicator of origin.

CA Paris, 7 June 1990, LawLex200200001867JBJ; CA Versailles, 11 May 1995, LawLex200001455JBJ; Cass. com, 26 June 1973, LawLex202200000107JBJ; Cass. com, 29 October 1975, LawLex202200002503JBJ.

Cass. com, 26 June 1973, LawLex202200000107JBJ; Cass. crim, 28 April 1977, LawLex202200002447JBJ.

ECJ Case C-9/93 IHT Internationale Heiztechnik GmbH and Uwe Danzinger, Judgment of 22 June 1994, LawLex200500005054JBJ.

Cass. com, 20 March 1985, LawLex202200001218JBJ.

Cass. com, 31 March 2015, LawLex201500000432JBJ; Cass. com, 13 October 2021, LawLex202100005622JBJ.

Cass. com, 20 February 2007, LawLex200800000368JBJ,  on the use of the term “Décathlon”. 

CA Paris, 14 March 2007, LawLex202200000117JBJ, concerning the reproduction of the figurative mark “Tintin and Snowy” and the denominative mark (word mark) “Tintin”, owned by the undertaking Moulinsart, on catalogs and an internet site, in the context of the sale of the work of Hergé.

Cass. com, 31 March 2015, LawLex201500000432JBJ.

Industrial Property Law

93. Real and absolute right

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

93. Real and absolute right

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

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