FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Vanessa Bouchara, Adèle Maier and Louise Lacroix, Cabinet Bouchara
1. Trade Mark and Copyright Law 1.1 Governing Law French copyright law is governed by the French Intellectual Property Code, particularly Articles L111-1 to L343-7, and by the EU Copyright Directive of 2001, along with the other EU direc - tives implemented into national law. As regards trade marks, there are two sets of statutory rules: French law for national trade marks (intellectual property code, Articles L.711- 1 to L.731-4), and European Union law for EU trade marks. French case law, developed by the courts, clarifies the outlines of these statutory rules and is largely influenced by European case law. EU trade marks are regulated by Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 and Directive 2015/2436. In a similar way to the French system, the case law of the CJEU clarifies specific issues. 1.2 Conventions and Treaties/Rights of Foreign IP Holders Aside from being a member of the EU, France is a signatory to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property of 1883. France is also a signatory of the Madrid Protocol for trademarks. French law and the Paris Conven - tion govern the rights of foreign trade mark or copyright holders in France. 2. Trade Mark Ownership, Protection and Rights 2.1 Types of Trade Marks The French system provides for different types of trade marks.
• Trade marks registered to designate goods and services. Trade marks are not limited to graphic representation; they may be verbal, figurative, of shape, position, sound, holo - graphic, or even multimedia (INPI, Declaration No 2019-157). • Guarantee trade marks (previously referred to as “certification” marks) aim at identifying the origin of goods and services of which some characteristics (eg, quality, material, manu - facture) are guaranteed (Article L.715-1 of the French Intellectual Property Code). • Collective trade marks are registered by a group (eg, manufacturers, producers, asso - ciations, public law entities) that authorises their use provided a specific set of rules – developed by the owners – is respected (Arti - cle L.715-6 of the French Intellectual Property Code). 2.2 Essential Elements of Trade Mark Protection In order to qualify for trade mark protection, the sign seeking registration shall be distinctive and not be: • exclusively descriptive of even one of the characteristics of the designated goods and/ or services; • exclusively composed of elements/indications that have become part of the usual language; • exclusively composed of the shape of the designated goods or other characteristics of the product that are dictated by the nature of the product, necessary to obtain a techni - cal result, or bestow substantial value on the product; • contrary to public order or illegal; • protected by an appellation of origin, geo - graphical indication, or plant variety; • misleading or deceiving for the public; or • filed in bad faith.
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