Doing Business In (Insert Country Name Here) - BNA

* Must not be deceptive as to the nature or origin of the goods.
* Must be recognizable by sight or sound.
* Must have novelty for the specified product line.
Duration: A trademark has a ten-year life span and is renewable every ten years.
Trademark Registration: Applications must be filed with INPI, which receives
applications, examines their validity, and registers trademarks. After registering the
trademark, it must be publicly and unequivocally used five consecutive years, or all
trademark rights are forfeited. It may be sold totally or partially, by product or service
category.
INPI
Division des Marques
Tel: (+33) 1.71.08.71.63
Fax: (+33) 1.53.04.45.23
Website: [http://www.inpi.fr]
Registration of trademarks, as in the case of patents, requires a French address, which
may be obtained through a legal representative in France. A list of trademark advisors
who can act as legal representatives can be obtained from CNCPI, whose address is
listed above.
Designs and Models
Designs and models have the following characteristics:
* Designs are an assembly of traits or colors on the surface of an object. They constitute
an original two-dimensional decoration.
* Models are all creations (ornaments).
* They must have absolute novelty.
Although some designs and models can be protected under patent or copyright
procedures, others fall into a category that requires special treatment. Designs or
models having an industrial function follow patent procedures, while designs or models
having a purely ornamental function follow copyright procedures. Those designs or
models that have both a practical and an ornamental function are subject to the
following:
Duration: Infringement protection has a 25-year life span, and is renewable for another
25 years.
Registration: Exclusive proprietary rights to the design or model are acquired through the
act of creation itself. Registration merely serves as proof of that creation. Designs and
models are to be registered with the INPI:
INPI-Designs and Models Section
Tel: (+33) 1.71.08.71.63
Fax: (+33) 1.53.04.45.23
2/15/2008 Country Commercial Guide for France 27
INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT, U.S. & FOREIGN COMMERCIAL SERVICE AND U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
© 2007. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES.