{"id":6274,"date":"2022-07-26T11:02:57","date_gmt":"2022-07-26T09:02:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.copyright.eu\/docs\/what-is-a-trademark\/"},"modified":"2022-08-11T12:39:09","modified_gmt":"2022-08-11T10:39:09","password":"","slug":"what-is-a-trademark","status":"publish","type":"docs","link":"https:\/\/www.copyright.eu\/en\/docs\/what-is-a-trademark\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a trademark?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"slds-rich-text-editor__output uiOutputRichText forceOutputRichText\" dir=\"ltr\" data-aura-rendered-by=\"11:167;a\" data-aura-class=\"uiOutputRichText forceOutputRichText\">\n<p data-aura-rendered-by=\"12:167;a\">The French Intellectual Property Code defines a trademark as \u00ab\u00a0<i>a sign used to distinguish the goods or services of a natural or legal person from those of other natural or legal persons<\/i>\u00ab\u00a0. (Article L711-1 of the IPC).<\/p>\n<p data-aura-rendered-by=\"12:167;a\">A \u00ab\u00a0sign\u00a0\u00bb can be of various forms, for example:<\/p>\n<ul data-aura-rendered-by=\"12:167;a\">\n<li>Word mark: name, numbers, letters&#8230;<\/li>\n<li>Figurative mark: drawing, logo, etc.<\/li>\n<li>Colour mark: a shade of colour.<\/li>\n<li>Sound mark: musical staff, jingle, recording&#8230;<\/li>\n<li> Shape mark: the shape of the product, packaging, etc.<\/li>\n<li>Hologram mark<\/li>\n<li>Position mark (particular affixing of the mark to a product)<\/li>\n<li>Pattern mark (regular repetition of elements)<\/li>\n<li>Movement mark<\/li>\n<li>Multimedia mark: short videos, etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div data-aura-rendered-by=\"12:167;a\"><\/div>\n<p><span data-aura-rendered-by=\"12:167;a\">A trademark helps to <b>distinguish products and services<\/b> from those of competitors. This is invaluable nowadays given the increasing choice for consumers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-aura-rendered-by=\"12:167;a\">The greatest benefit is that trademark law grants a <b>a monopoly of the use of the trademark<\/b> for the goods and services designated by the applicant. This monopoly derives from the holder&rsquo;s exclusive right on the trademark, allowing him\/her to take infringement action in case of violation of his\/her rights. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-aura-rendered-by=\"12:167;a\">On the other hand, this <b>principle of speciality<\/b> implies that this monopoly is limited to the goods and services designated in the application for registration, as well as similar goods and services. This means that two identical trademarks can co-exist provided that they cover different goods and services. The most striking example would be the \u00ab\u00a0Mont Blanc\u00a0\u00bb trademark, used for both pens and dessert creams by two different companies. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-aura-rendered-by=\"12:167;a\">Choosing a trademark is not easy: it must appeal to the company, it must appeal to consumers, and above all, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.copyright.eu\/docs\/le-depot-de-marque\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">it must be legally permissible<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Le droit des marques est une sous-branche de la propri\u00e9t\u00e9 intellectuelle : elle prot\u00e8ge la cr\u00e9ativit\u00e9 et constitue un patrimoine immat\u00e9riel d\u2019une entreprise. Ce droit prot\u00e8ge les marques, qui repr\u00e9sentent souvent l\u2019image de l\u2019entreprise et sont au centre de la strat\u00e9gie marketing. Bien exploit\u00e9es, elles peuvent avoir une grande valeur \u00e9conomique. Il est donc important de les s\u00e9curiser.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1003,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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