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To become the owner of a trademark in France, you must file with the National Institute of Industrial Property ( INPI ). It is he who examines the application for registration. What are the different stages?
beforehand
Before filing a trademark, you should ask yourself a few essential questions. First on the territorial scope of the brand. A deposit with the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) only has effect in France and if you want your trademark to be valid beyond France, special procedures must be followed. It is also necessary to ask the question of the field of exploitation of the mark: as a mark is intended to be exploited for certain products and/or services, it is therefore imperative to determine precisely for which products and services one wishes to exploit it . It is also important to check the validity of the mark. Finally, you have to find out if the mark has not already been registered and if it is still available.For this, prior art searches must be carried out either with the INPI,
The form
The filing of a trademark necessarily takes the form of a form that can be obtained from the National Institute of Industrial Property. It includes regulated sections: the identity of the applicant, the sign and the products and services. The sign is the mark one wishes to see registered. The final sign must be filed and it cannot be modified afterwards. It is advisable to adopt clear and precise wording on products and services. It is possible to use the nomenclature proposed in the international classification to identify the classes to which the products belong.
The filing of the file
The filing of the file can be done by filing the paper form at the National Institute of Industrial Property or online on the Internet. The file includes the deposit form, the payment of royalties and, in some cases, the power of attorney. The trademark has a legal existence from the day of its filing. The date is therefore particularly important because it is the date that starts the period of validity of a 10-year mark and that will determine the date of renewal.
How much is the deposit?
The cost depends on the number of classes filed. The class corresponds to a general category of goods and/or services. For a deposit of up to 3 classes of products or services, the amount is €200 for an online deposit and €225 for a paper version deposit. €40 must be added per additional class of goods and services.
File review
Within 6 weeks of filing, the National Institute of Industrial Property publishes the application for registration. The depositor then receives a certificate of publication. This is to verify that all information is accurate and contains no errors. The INPI then examines the application for registration. He sometimes formulates objections relating to the wording of the goods and services, or to the validity of the mark. The INPI also studies possible oppositions formulated by third parties, who call into question the validity of the deposited sign or claim that the deposit infringes their prior trademark rights.
Trademark registration
Registration is the last phase which leads to the definitive issuance of the mark, and the applicant then receives a “registration certificate”. It must be kept carefully because any subsequent request for a copy will be subject to payment. Registration occurs after a minimum period of 5 months from the filing date. It is also published. However, it does not guarantee that the mark is valid and that it will not be challenged or canceled by the courts.
DAMY Law Firm , Nice, Trademark filing, Update 2022
