Trade name

A trade name is the name under which a business trades and becomes known to its customers. It identifies the business as a going concern, whereas the company name identifies the legal entity and the shop sign identifies a particular establishment. The three may coincide or differ. The trade name is an intangible asset of the business, transferable with it and recorded in the French trade and companies register.

Acquiring and protecting a trade name

Rights in a trade name arise from first public use, not from registration. They are maintained through use and lost by abandonment. Protection rests on the action for unfair competition, based on Article 1240 of the French Civil Code, where a third party adopts an identical or similar sign creating a likelihood of confusion among a shared customer base. The territorial scope of protection follows the reach of the business: local for a neighbourhood shop, national for a company operating throughout France.

Trade name and trade mark

A trade name is a prior right that can be raised against a later trade mark application under Article L. 711-3 of the French Intellectual Property Code, provided there is a likelihood of confusion and the trade name is known throughout the national territory. Its owner may file an opposition before the INPI or seek cancellation of the mark. Conversely, using a trade name that reproduces an earlier trade mark may amount to trade mark infringement where the use occurs in the course of trade for similar goods or services.

Key points

In practice, a trade name deserves complementary protection through a trade mark filing and the registration of the corresponding domain names, so as to hold an enforceable title without having to prove use and reach. The firm handles disputes between trade names, company names, trade marks and domain names as part of its intellectual property practice.