Out-Law / Your Daily Need-To-Know
Changes to trade mark laws in France have come into force.
The French Council of State published Decree No. 2019-1316 related to trade marks on 9 December 2019, with the effect of bringing the underlying new Ordinance into force on 10 December.
Paris-based intellectual property law expert Leonore Isnard of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law, gave a detailed explanation of what the new trade mark laws provide for after the reforms were agreed by law makers in France last month.
The new legislation makes it possible for new types of trade marks to be registered in France, and it further clarifies the rights businesses will enjoy when they obtain trade mark protection.
The Ordinance also sets out the grounds for refusing the registration of trade marks, a new procedure for opposing the registration of marks, and updates rules on how the validity of registered marks can be retrospectively challenged.
While most of the provisions have now taken effect now that the Ordinance has come into force, the new provisions related to the procedure for revocation or declaration of invalidity will not take effect until 1 April 2020.
With its new legislation, France has followed other EU countries, including the UK, Germany and Ireland, in implementing the EU's Trade Mark Directive of 2015 into national law.
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