Trademark Law Firm in Paris

We assist and advise you in the protection of the rights of owners of distinctive signs, including trademarks, domain names, company names, trade names and shop signs.

Our lawyers can assess potential conflicts with earlier rights, review the goods and services to be covered, and advise on the appropriate filing territory. This preliminary work helps identify legal obstacles before resources are committed to a trademark application or commercial launch.

We advise businesses on trademark monitoring, renewal deadlines and portfolio management. Depending on the circumstances, this may include monitoring trademark applications, company names and domain names, assessing potentially conflicting rights and coordinating protection across jurisdictions.

The Firm can also assist with customs surveillance measures where they form part of a broader strategy to detect and prevent the circulation of infringing goods.

We assist you in the negotiation and drafting of assignment, licence and coexistence agreements for trademarks, domain names and other distinctive signs.

Our lawyers represent clients in opposition, invalidity and revocation proceedings before the INPI and the EUIPO, depending on the rights concerned and the applicable procedure.

We assess the earlier rights relied upon, the signs and goods or services at issue, evidence of use where relevant, and the procedural strategy to be adopted.

Bouchara & Avocats represents trademark owners in infringement and related unfair competition disputes before the competent French courts.

The Firm also assists with disputes involving conflicting domain names and, where appropriate, proceedings such as UDRP or SYRELI. Depending on the matter, the strategy may involve evidence preservation, negotiations, cease-and-desist correspondence, administrative proceedings or court action.

A French trademark application is filed with the INPI and is intended to confer protection in France, subject to registration and the applicable conditions. A prior-rights search should not be limited to identical French registrations: relevant earlier rights may include EU trade marks, international registrations having effect in France and certain other distinctive signs.

Bouchara & Avocats assists with the assessment of the sign, the wording of goods and services, filing and subsequent proceedings before the INPI.

The European Union trade mark is a single title covering all the Member States of the European Union.

An EU trade mark is applied for through the EUIPO. Its unitary character allows protection throughout the EU under a single registration, but an obstacle arising in part of the Union may affect the application or registration as a whole. Conversion into national applications may be possible in certain circumstances, subject to legal conditions and exceptions.

The Madrid System does not create a single worldwide trademark. It allows an eligible applicant to seek protection in selected member territories through one international registration, based on a national or regional application or registration.

Each designated member examines protection under its own applicable law. Bouchara & Avocats can assist with the designation strategy and coordinate responses to objections or provisional refusals where necessary.

For a more detailed comparison, see our guide to international trademark protection.

A sign must meet the legal requirements for trademark protection. Its distinctive character and lawfulness should therefore be assessed in relation to the goods and services concerned before filing.

The list of goods and services determines the scope of protection sought. It should reflect the company’s actual and foreseeable activities, while the territorial strategy should correspond to the markets in which the business operates or plans to expand.

A sign may satisfy the conditions for registration while still conflicting with earlier rights. Trademark clearance and prior-rights searches help assess that risk before filing.

Depending on the circumstances, relevant earlier rights may include prior trademarks, company names, trade names, domain names, copyright and other protected rights (article L.711-3 of the French Intellectual Property Code).

To protect your trademark, it is essential to keep an eye on deadlines and, in particular, to renew it properly. Our firm will notify you of your trademark renewal deadlines so that you do not lose your rights to your sign and will assist you with your renewal procedures.

In France, a trademark may be vulnerable to revocation where it has not been put to genuine use, without proper reasons, for an uninterrupted period of five years (article L.714-5 of the French Intellectual Property Code). EU trade mark law also applies a five-year genuine-use requirement (article 18 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001).

Bouchara & Avocats assists clients in reviewing evidence of use, defending revocation proceedings and challenging registrations where the legal conditions are met.

Unauthorised use of an identical or similar sign does not call for the same response in every case. Our lawyers assess the rights relied upon, the use complained of, the available evidence and the commercial context before recommending a strategy.

Depending on the matter, the response may involve negotiations, a cease-and-desist letter, administrative proceedings or court action.