French domestic trademark protection is governed by the Code de la Propriété Intellectuelle (CPI, French Intellectual Property Code), substantially updated by the 2019 trademark‑reform ordinance, which transposes EU Trade Mark Directive 2015/2436 into national lawLégifrance. The competent authority is INPI (Institut National de la Propriété Industrielle) based in Paris, handling trademark filing, examination, publication, opposition and administrative revocation procedures. Civil trademark‑infringement disputes fall under the jurisdiction of specialised civil courts, while appeal proceedings against INPI administrative decisions are heard by the Paris Court of Appeal. France follows the first‑to‑file principle: trademark rights primarily arise from official registration before INPI, rather than from prior market use. Unregistered signs can obtain limited protection only if they qualify as well‑known marks under Article 6‑bis of the Paris Convention.
Under French law, any sign capable of distinguishing goods and services of one undertaking from competitors is eligible for trademark registration. Registrable subject‑matters include word marks, figurative marks, combined marks, three‑dimensional shapes, colour marks, sound marks, motion marks and hologram marks. The core statutory requirement is distinctiveness: signs must not be purely descriptive, generic or functional for the designated goods and services. Descriptive terms can only acquire registrability when they have obtained acquired distinctiveness through extensive market recognition among relevant consumer groups. Collective marks and certification marks are also explicitly recognised under French trademark legislation. Certification marks enable neutral certifying bodies to register quality seals for products complying with specific technical standards. Absolute grounds for refusal also cover signs violating public policy, protected geographical indications and state emblems; absolute obstacles cannot be overcome by mere commercial usage.
Once a trademark application passes INPI substantive examination, it will be published in the official industrial‑property bulletin BOPI (Bulletin Officiel de la Propriété Industrielle). The statutory opposition period runs for two months following publication. Interested parties may file oppositions based on earlier French national trademarks, EU trade marks, international registrations extended to France, unregistered well‑known‑mark rights, copyright, personality rights and geographical‑indication rights. If an opposing mark has been registered for more than five years, the applicant may challenge genuine use; the burden of proving serious commercial use within French territory rests fully upon the opponent. After opposition proceedings, successful applications proceed to registration. Registered trademarks receive ten‑year protection calculated from the filing date, and may be renewed indefinitely. France provides a six‑month post‑expiry grace period for late renewal, subject to payment of an additional surcharge. Rights lapse permanently if renewal is not completed within this grace window.
Since April 2020, INPI has possessed direct administrative competence for revocation and invalidity applications, shifting these matters away from exclusive court jurisdictionPIBD. Revocation for non‑use (déchéance) represents one of the most practically significant systems under French trademark law. Under Article L.714‑5 of the CPI, any interested third party can file revocation if a mark has not undergone serious genuine use within France for five consecutive years without proper justifying reasons. Symbolic, internal‑only or minimal‑volume sales do not satisfy the genuine‑use standard. Partial revocation is available for only some classes or goods/services covered by the registration. A further revocation ground is degeneration: where a trademark has become a generic common name for relevant products and loses its source‑identifying function. In contrast, invalidity annuls the registration retroactively from its filing date. Absolute‑ground invalidity actions have no time limitation. Relative‑ground invalidity claims based on third‑party prior rights normally must be initiated within five‑years after registration. This five‑year limitation does not apply to bad‑faith filings. Another important civil‑law mechanism is acquiescence‑based preclusion: if a prior‑right holder knowingly tolerates use of a later conflicting mark for five successive years, they lose the right to apply for invalidity, except in bad‑faith‑filing scenarios.
Regarding trademark transactions, assignment and licence agreements require written form to achieve contractual validity. Recording before INPI is not mandatory for internal contractual validity, but unrecorded transfers or licences cannot be asserted against bona‑fide third‑party successors‑in‑title. Exclusive licensees have independent standing to initiate trademark‑infringement civil proceedings before French courts. Non‑exclusive licensees may sue only together with the trademark proprietor, unless the licence contract explicitly grants independent litigation rights. Any change of proprietor name, address or legal form must be recorded in the official INPI register. Failure to update registry information may result in procedural disadvantages, including missed official procedural notifications.
For trademark enforcement, right‑holders may obtain civil remedies including injunctions, destruction of counterfeit goods, damages or account of profits of infringer gains. Intentional large‑scale counterfeiting may trigger criminal penalties. Customs border measures can be activated by filing an application with French customs authorities to detain counterfeit import and export goods. Foreign applicants without a domestic address in France must appoint an authorised French‑based industrial‑property representative for all INPI‑related procedures. Power‑of‑attorney documents do not require apostille or consular legalisation. Enterprises operating on the French market should systematically preserve commercial invoices, advertising materials and sales records as genuine‑use evidence, to defend against potential five‑year non‑use revocation petitions throughout the trademark lifecycle.
1.IPcrossark：https://www.ipcrossark.com/en/trademark.html?cid=59
2.https://www.inpi.fr/en/protect‑your‑creations/protect‑your‑brand
3. https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/id/LEGISCTA000006069414
4. https://www.inpi.fr/en/our‑publications/official‑bulletin‑bopi
