French Intellectual Property Code
In forceI.- Applications for invalidation of trademarks based on Articles L. 711-2, L. 715-4 and L. 715-9 shall be filed with the National Institute of Industrial Property by any natural person or legal entity. They may be brought by any interested party before the judicial courts determined by regulation.
II. II - Applications for invalidation of trade marks on the basis of Article L. 711-3 may only be brought before the Institut National de la Propriété Industrielle and before the courts determined by regulation by the proprietors of prior rights, in particular:
1° The proprietor of an earlier trade mark referred to in 1° and 2° of I of Article L. 711-3;
>The beneficiary of an earlier trade mark referred to in 1° and 2° of I of Article L. 711-3 2° The beneficiary of an exclusive right to use an earlier registered trade mark referred to in 1° and 2° of I of Article L. 711-3, unless otherwise stipulated in the contract;
3° Any legal entity acting on the basis of its name or business name referred to in 3° of I of Article L. 711-3;
4° The holder of a domain name referred to in 4° of the first paragraph of Article L. 711-3;
> Any person acting on the basis of the name or company name referred to in 3° of the first paragraph of Article L. 711-3 5° Any person acting under 4° of I of Article L. 711-3 on the basis of the business name under which they carry on their activity or the trade name designating the place where this activity is carried on;
6° Any person who, acting under 5° of I of Article L. 711-3, is authorised to exercise the rights deriving from a geographical indication mentioned in Article L. 722-1 and in particular to ensure its management or defence;
A local authority or a regional or local authority, acting under 5° of I of Article L. 711-3, authorised to exercise the rights deriving from a geographical indication mentioned in Article L. 722-1 and in particular to ensure its management or defence 7° A local authority or a public establishment for inter-communal cooperation acting on the basis of the right referred to in 9° of the I of Article L. 711-3, or on the basis of an infringement of a geographical indication referred to in Article L. 722-1 where that indication includes their name;
> Any legal person governed by public law 8° Any legal person governed by public law acting under 10° of I of Article L. 711-3 on the basis of the name under which that person, or its services, carries on its activity;
9° The owner of a trademark protected in a State party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property acting on the basis of III of Article L. 711-3.
