Intellectual property

Yes. Since 3 August 2019, the USPTO has required applicants whose domicile or principal place of business is outside the United States to be represented by an attorney admitted to the bar of a U.S. state. This requirement applies to the filing itself and to all subsequent proceedings (responses to objections, declarations of use, renewals).

No. Trademark law is territorial: a French trademark has effect only in France. To be protected elsewhere, you must file a European Union trademark, national trademarks in the countries concerned, or an international trademark through the Madrid system. A six-month priority period from the first filing allows protection to be extended while keeping the date of that first filing.

In France and in the European Union, registration is valid for ten years and may be renewed indefinitely. In the United States, registration is also renewable every ten years, but the owner must in addition show use of the mark between the fifth and sixth year after registration, and at each renewal. In all cases, a mark not used for five years is exposed to revocation.

It is strongly recommended. In France and in the European Union, the office does not examine of its own motion whether earlier trademarks exist: it is for the owners of earlier rights to file an opposition. A prior search makes it possible to assess the risk of opposition or of an infringement action before investing in a name, packaging or a label.

The first step is to preserve evidence (a report by a commissaire de justice, or judicial officer; dated screenshots; test purchases), then to analyse the situation before sending a formal notice. In France, the infringement seizure (saisie-contrefaçon) allows evidence to be obtained with the court's authorisation. An infringement action is in principle time-barred five years from the day the owner knew or should have known of the last fact enabling it to be brought.