Introduction to French Guaranteed Trademarks

France promulgated Law No. 2019-486 on May 22, 2019. Since then, guaranteed trademarks have replaced collective certification marks, also known as the PACTE law. Examples of guaranteed trademarks are shown below.

Functions of the warranty mark: Certain characteristics of the goods/services designated by the warranty mark must be described in the rules of use.

Applicants for guaranteed trademarks: can only be entities that are not engaged in activities related to the supply of goods/services covered by the trademark.

Regulations on use include: who can use the trademark; conditions of use; if the trademark contains a clause that the goods/services have been certified, references to the certification body should be provided and how to verify the entity issuing the guarantee.

Although French trademark law does not require that the characteristics of goods/services be pointed out, in order to avoid trouble, trademark certification should be serious. Therefore, in practice, certification agencies, or legal persons, or professional associations, or trade unions can register guaranteed trademarks together with certification agencies. .

For example, the Qualopi trademark and its logo registered by the French State on behalf of the Minister of Labour, Employment and Integration are registered in Class 41 for "training services; training materials; professional retraining" and are followed during the registration process Strict and standardized registration procedures are in place. During the registration process, it first obtained certification from the COFRAC certification body.

The applicant for a guaranteed trademark is legally independent and submits a written declaration to the French Patent and Trademark Office (INPI). But interested parties can still challenge its independence in court.