{"id":1762,"date":"2017-05-30T10:00:53","date_gmt":"2017-05-30T10:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/depot-de-marque.com\/?page_id=1762"},"modified":"2020-12-03T06:02:46","modified_gmt":"2020-12-03T05:02:46","slug":"action-for-cancellation-due-to-non-use","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/depot-de-marque.com\/en\/guide-marques\/action-en-decheance-pour-non-usage\/","title":{"rendered":"Action for forfeiture for lack of use"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"forfeiture<\/a><\/p>\n

Action for forfeiture for lack of use<\/h1>\n

Forfeiture for misuse, as its title indicates, is a direct result of failure to comply with of the obligation to use a trademark.<\/a> The action allows a third party to attack a mark in order to obtain its forfeiture. Its owner can then totally or partially lose his rights to his trademark.<\/p>\n

The obligation to use a mark<\/h2>\n

The obligation to use results from Article L. 714-5 of the French Intellectual Property Code<\/a>which states that:<\/p>\n

\"The owner of a trade mark who, without just reasons, has not made serious use of it for the goods and services covered by the registration for an uninterrupted period of five years shall be liable to forfeiture of his rights. \u00bb<\/p>\n

Revocation of use is therefore recognized in the event that the mark has not been put to serious use for an uninterrupted period of 5 years, for the goods or services referred to in its wording.<\/p>\n

However, the notion of \"serious use\" remained unclear and the case law had to take care of drawing the main characteristics. Without going into further detail, serious use means that it must be real, not sporadic, effective and of a commercial nature.<\/p>\n

Action for forfeiture for lack of use<\/h2>\n

Forfeiture is not automatic and must be brought before the High Court (Tribunal de grande instance) by a third party once the period has expired. The revocation action is open to any interested third party: this presupposes that the latter must feel a concrete discomfort, for example if he wishes to register an identical trademark for the same goods and\/or services.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, the burden of proof does not lie with him, and it is for the proprietor of the contested mark to prove its use. It is in fact much more complicated to prove a lack of use than the reverse. The defendant may also invoke \"just grounds\", i.e. circumstances or obstacles outside his control that would have prevented him from using his trademark.<\/p>\n

Use can be proved by any means by the defendant, but proof of use is usually dated documents: this can be press reviews, advertisements, catalogues, labels or packaging, but also figures such as sales volumes. It is then up to the judge to assess their relevance.<\/p>\n

Total or partial forfeiture<\/h2>\n

An action for revocation for failure to use may be limited to certain goods and\/or services, in particular if the plaintiff in the action is interested in only some of them. In such a case and if he is successful, the trade mark will be revoked only for the goods and\/or services which are the subject of the action or for which proof of use could not be provided.<\/p>\n

Protecting yourself against a forfeiture action for misuse<\/h2>\n

The owner of a trademark has every interest, on the one hand, to make effective use of it, but also to keep evidence of its use in a file. Thus, in the event of an attack, this one will be able to protect himself.<\/a> Also be careful not to substantially change the appearance of the trademark, at the risk of losing distinctiveness. The judge may not consider its use as proof of use of the trademark originally registered.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

L’action en d\u00e9ch\u00e9ance pour d\u00e9faut d’usage La d\u00e9ch\u00e9ance pour d\u00e9faut d’usage, comme son intitul\u00e9 l’indique, d\u00e9coule directement du non respect de l’obligation d’usage d’une marque. L’action permet \u00e0 un tiers d’attaquer une marque afin d’en obtenir la d\u00e9ch\u00e9ance. Son titulaire peut alors perdre totalement ou partiellement ses droits sur\u00a0sa marque. L’obligation d’usage d’une marque L’obligation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":11,"menu_order":38,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":"","tve_updated_post":"

___TVE_SHORTCODE_RAW__<p><a href=\"http:\/\/depot-de-marque.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/GM_decheance-non-usage.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-1764 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/depot-de-marque.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/GM_decheance-non-usage-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"action en d\u00e9ch\u00e9ance\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" \/><\/a><\/p><h1>L'action en d\u00e9ch\u00e9ance pour d\u00e9faut d'usage<\/h1><p>La d\u00e9ch\u00e9ance pour d\u00e9faut d'usage, comme son intitul\u00e9 l'indique, d\u00e9coule directement du non respect<a href=\"http:\/\/depot-de-marque.com\/guide-marques\/lobligation-dusage-dune-marque\" data-cke-saved-href=\"http:\/\/depot-de-marque.com\/guide-marques\/lobligation-dusage-dune-marque\"> de l'obligation d'usage d'une marque.<\/a> L'action permet \u00e0 un tiers d'attaquer une marque afin d'en obtenir la d\u00e9ch\u00e9ance. Son titulaire peut alors perdre totalement ou partiellement ses droits sur sa marque.<\/p><h2 class=\"ckeditor\">L'obligation d'usage d'une marque<\/h2><p>L'obligation d'usage <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/affichCodeArticle.do?cidTexte=LEGITEXT000006069414&amp;idArticle=LEGIARTI000006279720&amp;dateTexte=&amp;categorieLien=cid\" data-cke-saved-href=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/affichCodeArticle.do?cidTexte=LEGITEXT000006069414&amp;idArticle=LEGIARTI000006279720&amp;dateTexte=&amp;categorieLien=cid\">r\u00e9sulte de l'article L. 714-5 du Code de la propri\u00e9t\u00e9 intellectuelle<\/a>, lequel dispose que :<\/p><p>\u00ab Le propri\u00e9taire de la marque qui, sans justes motifs, n\u2019en a pas fait un usage s\u00e9rieux, pour les produits et services vis\u00e9s dans l\u2019enregistrement, pendant une p\u00e9riode ininterrompue de 5 ans encourt la d\u00e9ch\u00e9ance de ses droits. \u00bb<\/p><p>La d\u00e9ch\u00e9ance d'usage est donc reconnue dans l'hypoth\u00e8se o\u00f9 la marque n'a pas fait l'objet d'un usage s\u00e9rieux durant une p\u00e9riode ininterrompue de 5 ans, pour les produits ou services vis\u00e9s dans son libell\u00e9.<\/p><p>La notion \u00ab d'usage s\u00e9rieux \u00bb restait cependant floue et la jurisprudence a d\u00fb se charger d'en tirer les caract\u00e8res principaux. Sans plus entrer en d\u00e9tails, un usage s\u00e9rieux signifie qu'il doit \u00eatre r\u00e9el, non sporadique, effectif et d'ordre commercial.<\/p><h2 class=\"ckeditor\">L'action en d\u00e9ch\u00e9ance pour d\u00e9faut d'usage<\/h2><p>La d\u00e9ch\u00e9ance n'est pas automatique et doit \u00eatre intent\u00e9e devant le TGI (Tribunal de grande instance) par un tiers une fois la p\u00e9riode expir\u00e9e. L'action en d\u00e9ch\u00e9ance est ouverte \u00e0 tout tiers int\u00e9ress\u00e9 : cela suppose que ce dernier doit ressentir une g\u00eane concr\u00e8te, par exemple s'il souhaite d\u00e9poser une marque identique pour les m\u00eames produits et\/ou services.<\/p><p>En revanche la charge de la preuve ne lui appartient pas, et il revient au titulaire de la marque attaqu\u00e9e d'en d\u00e9montrer l'usage. Il est en effet bien plus compliqu\u00e9 de prouver un d\u00e9faut d'usage que l'inverse. Le d\u00e9fenseur peut \u00e9galement invoquer des \u00ab justes motifs \u00bb, c'est-\u00e0-dire des circonstances ou obstacles ext\u00e9rieurs \u00e0 sa volont\u00e9 qui l'auraient emp\u00each\u00e9 de faire usage de sa marque.<\/p><p>L'usage peut \u00eatre prouv\u00e9 par tout moyen par le d\u00e9fendeur, mais les preuves d'usages sont g\u00e9n\u00e9ralement des documents dat\u00e9s : il peut s'agir de revues de presse, des publicit\u00e9s, des catalogues, \u00e9tiquettes ou emballages, mais aussi de donn\u00e9es chiffr\u00e9es tels que les volumes de vente. Il revient ensuite au juge d'en appr\u00e9cier la pertinence.<\/p><h2 class=\"ckeditor\">D\u00e9ch\u00e9ance totale ou partielle<\/h2><p>Une action en d\u00e9ch\u00e9ance pour d\u00e9faut d'usage peut ne viser que certains produits et\/ou services, en particulier si le demandeur \u00e0 l'action n'est int\u00e9ress\u00e9 que par une partie de ces derniers. Dans ce cas et s'il obtient gain de cause, la marque ne sera d\u00e9chue que pour les produits et\/ou services attaqu\u00e9s ou pour lesquels des preuves d'usage n'ont pu \u00eatre apport\u00e9s.<\/p><h2 class=\"ckeditor\">Se prot\u00e9ger d'une action en d\u00e9ch\u00e9ance pour d\u00e9faut d'usage<\/h2><p>Le titulaire d'une marque a tout int\u00e9r\u00eat, d'une part, d'en faire un usage effectif, mais aussi de conserver des preuves de son usage dans un dossier. Ainsi, en cas d'attaque, <a href=\"http:\/\/depot-de-marque.com\/conseil-propriete-industrielle\" data-cke-saved-href=\"http:\/\/depot-de-marque.com\/conseil-propriete-industrielle\">celui-ci sera \u00e0 m\u00eame de se prot\u00e9ger.<\/a> Attention \u00e9galement \u00e0 ne pas modifier substantiellement l'aspect de la marque, au risque de la voir perdre en distinctivit\u00e9. Le juge pourrait ne pas consid\u00e9rer son utilisation comme une preuve d'usage de la marque d\u00e9pos\u00e9e initialement.<\/p>__TVE_SHORTCODE_RAW___<\/div><\/div>
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