Industrial Property Law

The offering, placing on the market or possession of goods under the mark, or the offering or provision of services under the mark, constitute acts subject to the consent of the proprietor of the mark within the meaning of Articles L. 713-2 and L. 713-3 of the Intellectual Property Code (Art. L. 713-3-1, 2° IP Code). An undertaking does not consent, even implicitly, to the marketing of its product …

Offering, placing on the market or holding products bearing the sign

The offering, placing on the market or possession of goods under the mark, or the offering or provision of services under the mark, constitute acts subject to the consent of the proprietor of the mark within the meaning of Articles L. 713-2 and L. 713-3 of the Intellectual Property Code (Art. L. 713-3-1, 2° IP Code). An undertaking does not consent, even implicitly, to the marketing of its products when, not having been notified of their sale by auction, it expresses its opposition to the sale as soon as it becomes aware of it and makes a proposal to buy back the stock and receives no response . On the other hand, the reproduction of the mark by a distributor, including during a promotional campaign, to designate genuine products marketed under normal conditions, does not constitute use requiring the authorization of the proprietor of the mark .

Since the enforceability of the exclusive right to a trademark is territorially limited, the reference to a trademark on an website, even if it is accessible by internet users from France, does not fall within the scope of the text, when the product on which the trademark is affixed is not offered for sale or available in France, where the part of the website intended for France does not present any product under the trademark .

On the other hand, the marketing in France of a product acquired from a supplier not authorized by the proprietor of the trademark to manufacture the products , or from retailers outside the selective distribution network of the proprietor , the distribution of a trademarked product in France, even if it has been legally acquired, in order to offer it in a lottery organized for advertising purposes ,  the act of carrying out an essential modification of the goods that changes their nature, without demonstrating that the modification process is consistent with that used for the same purpose by the proprietor of the trademark , the possession of marked goods in the course of the production and marketing of goods, even if the goods are intended for export  or the ordering and paying for products bearing the infringing trademark on a website, even if the order was ultimately canceled and the delivery was not made are all considered to be prohibited uses.

Com, 4 October 2011 (Chanel), LawLex201100001574JBJ; Cass. com, 24 May 2011 LawLex201100000950JBJ.

Cass. com. 1 March 1994, LawLex202200002529JBJ: in this case, the distributor had mentioned the trademark in order to allow its customers to more easily locate the shelf on which the trademarked articles were displayed; Cass. com, 15 March 1994, LawLex202200002531JBJ, a distributor had a sufficient supply of products bearing the trademark during the promotional campaign and the advertising of the products bearing the trademark and the placing on sale of the latter in the vicinity of those marketed by the distributor were carried out under normal commercial conditions.

Cass. com, 10 July 2007, LawLex200700001101JBJ.

Cass. com. 15 May 1990, LawLex202200002450JBJ.

Cass. com, 21 June 1994, LawLex200200001556JBJ.

Cass. com, 2 July 1996, LawLex200005587JBJ.

Cass. com. 28 January 1992, LawLex202200002451JBJ.

CA Paris, 7 February 2024, LawLex202400001457JBJ.

Industrial Property Law

104. Offering, placing on the market or holding products bearing the sign

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104. Offering, placing on the market or holding products bearing the sign

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

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