Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie

Trademarks

Brand names, maker's marks, hallmarks or trademarks

A trademark is a sign capable of graphic representation, serving to distinguish the products or services of one person or company from those of his/its competitors. It can be a designation, for example a word, a combination of words, a slogan, a patronymic name, letters, numbers.... It can also be a figurative sign, for example: a design, a label, a relief, a logo, a shape, a colour combination... A trademark can also be constituted by a sound or a smell, such as that of “freshly mown grass” to signify tennis balls.

A trademark only makes sense within the context of its function. In other words, a trademark when applied to a product or a service will enable the consumer to distinguish and to recognize this product or service among all the others. Put another way, the trademark represents security for the consumer, helping him to avoid making a mistake about the origin of a product or a service. Thus the trademark has the essential and traditional function of indicating the origin of the products or services it distinguishes. The function of a guarantee of quality also applies. This has evolved considerably, especially with the development in communications, to the point today where a trademark or brand name sometimes has a symbolic function as a rallying point or a focus of recognition. It can be concluded that the brand name or trademark has become a key element in a company's strategy, as well as an enhancing element and a marketing instrument, enabling it to maintain or increase its market share.

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How to obtain a trademark?

By actual use and/or by registration of the trademark with the appropriate national or international bodies. Trademark law is a law in constant evolution, following the example of the economy to which the brand is inseparably linked. This leads on the one hand to substantial differences between national legislation, and on the other, to successive International Conventions, some of which illustrate the current trend towards harmonization.

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What is the purpose of a trademark?

The appropriation of a trademark confers upon its owner an exclusive right to exploit it, and for as long as necessary, in relation to the products or services concerned. This monopoly of exploitation authorizes the owner to intervene against any exploitation by a third party of an identical or similar sign, in respect of identical or similar products. The trademark owner has at his disposal an arsenal of specific and particularly effective means of intervention in order to obtain recognition, prohibition and redress with regard to such illicit acts of counterfeiting. The owner of the trademark can also authorize third parties to use all or part of the products or services designated by the trademark, either at no charge or in return for an agreed payment. These licensing agreements also play an active part in the general economy of international trade.