Registering a technological concept or a new technology name as a genuine trademark is sometimes difficult.
Besides the difficulty of defining the list of goods and services that a trademark covers, certain conditions have to be respected for the trademark’s use to be considered genuine under French law.
According to a Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) ruling that French courts have to follow, genuine use must be “consistent with the essential function of a trademark, which is to guarantee the identity of the origin of goods or services to the consumer or end user by enabling him, without any possibility of confusion, to distinguish the product or service from others which have another origin” (ECJ 11/03/2011 ANSUL).
Furthermore, a genuine use of a trademark must “relate to goods or services already marketed or about to be marketed and for which preparations by the undertaking to secure customers are under way, particularly in the form of advertising campaigns” (same decision).
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technology names, trademarks, registered trademarks, France, DIVX
