FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Vanessa Bouchara, Adèle Maier and Louise Lacroix, Cabinet Bouchara
4.11 The Madrid System France has participated in the Madrid system since 1997. 5. Trade Mark Procedure for Inter Partes Proceedings 5.1 Timeframes for Filing an Opposition or Cancellation Before registration, third parties may file an opposition against a trade mark application within two months after publication of the appli - cation. There is no system of request for an extension of the time limit to file an opposition in France and no cooling-off period. Revocation Revocation proceedings on the grounds of lack of genuine use can only be filed from five years after the registration date. Cancellation The French system provides a rule known as the “forfeiture by acquiescence”, according to which a third party may not challenge a registered trade mark whose use has been knowingly tolerated by the third party for more than five years. There are no statutes of limitation for cancella - tion actions based on fraudulent filing/bad faith. 5.2 Legal Grounds for Filing an Opposition or Cancellation The legal grounds for filing an opposition to a trade mark application are listed in Articles L.712-4 and L.712-4-1 of the French Intellectual Property Code and are the following: • prior trade marks;
• prior trade marks enjoying a reputation – reg - istered or unregistered; • company name, trade name, commercial signs or domain names; • geographical indications; and • name, image or reputation of a local authority or a public establishment or public entity. Cancellation A trade mark may be revoked or cancelled on the basis of two sets of grounds: absolute grounds and relative grounds. The absolute grounds for invalidation are the fol - lowing (Article L.711-2 of the French Intellectual Property Code): • the mark is devoid of distinctive character; • the mark consists exclusively of elements which may designate a characteristic of the covered goods and services; • the mark consists exclusively of the shape of the product dictated by its nature or technical function; • the mark is a national emblem; • the mark is contrary to public policy or moral - ity; • the mark deceives the public; • the mark is a protected appellation of origin, geographical indication, or plant variety; and • the mark was filed in bad faith. The relative grounds for invalidation actions are based on prior rights (trade marks, well-known signs, copyrights, corporate names, domain names, public entity name, etc) and are listed in Article L.711-3 of the French Intellectual Prop - erty Code.
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