3 tips for registering your "made in France" trademark

Made in France" has a particular aura for many products, particularly luxury goods, clothing, food, wine, etc. Many trademark applicants want to register a trademark that reflects this trend. For example, by playing with blue-white-red, by adding mentions such as "made in France" or "Paris", or by registering very descriptive expressions ("le Slip Français"). Be careful, certain rules must be respected in order to obtain the registration of your trademark in the best conditions.

Tip 1: Avoid descriptive marks

We repeat it regularly: beware of descriptive marks ! We fully understand that it is commercially great to obtain the "LE CHOCOLAT FRANÇAIS" trademark, but don't forget that a trademark is a distinctive sign that confers a monopoly of exploitation on a name to a single economic actor. It is therefore impossible to deprive other players of the use of terms necessary to their activity. In this case, the expression LE CHOCOLAT FRANÇAIS cannot be registered and will be systematically refused by the INPI.

The only way to get around an INPI refusal, if you want to register this type of trademark, is to add a logo. The logo itself must be distinctive, i.e. not directly related to the product in question. To use our example of a trademark LE CHOCOLAT FRANÇAIS, the logo must not be a chocolate bar or a dent.

For more information on distinctiveness and descriptiveness, see the article in our guide on this subject.

Tip 2: Use "made in France" with care!

Every year we see hundreds (even thousands) of brands containing the terms "France", or "Paris", "... French" or "made in France". This type of mention immediately informs the consumer about the origin of the product. But be careful: the product must actually come from France! There are two reasons for this.

The first is to avoid misleading the consumer about the origin of the product. This type of practice is criminally sanctioned.

The second concerns trademark registration: in fact, if your trademark includes the terms "France", or "Paris", "... French" or "made in France", the INPI will systematically ask you to add a mention at the end of the wording of each class of goods. This statement will consist of "all these products are of French origin or made in France". This means that the protection of your trademark is limited to products made in France or of French origin.

In the end, if your products do not come from France, it is better to remove the terms linking your trademark to France, especially in the application.

But if, for example, you have clothes made in Tunisia that you design in France, there is nothing to stop you from adding the words "French design" on your labels or in your communication. This is not misleading because the design was indeed made in France. It is the manufacturing that is exported. The important thing is to be precise.

Tip 3: Avoid flags!

Instead of indicating the word France, you might be tempted to refer to it more subtly through the French flag. Unfortunately for you, Article 6ter of the Paris Convention on Intellectual Property prohibits the registration of state flags and emblems as trademarks. Thus, if your application includes a French flag, it will be systematically refused by the INPI.

Here are examples of trademarks refused by the INPI (already descriptive, the flag does not provide the necessary distinctiveness, on the contrary):

However, nothing prohibits playing with the blue-white-red colours, as long as they are not similar to the flag. Here are some examples of marks accepted by the INPI: