What we do for you
Clearance search
Identification of trademarks and other earlier rights that could stand in the way of your project. Risk assessment before you settle on the sign.
Learn more 02Trademark filing
Definition of the sign, the goods and services and the territories to be covered. Filing of French trademarks with the INPI (French IP Office) or of European Union trade marks (EUTM) with the EUIPO.
Learn more 03Trademark watch
Monitoring of new trademark filings in France, in the European Union and internationally. Identification of potentially conflicting signs so that action can be taken within the appropriate time limits.
Learn more 04Opposition & Disputes
Oppositions and administrative proceedings before the INPI and the EUIPO, negotiation of coexistence agreements, and support for court actions in coordination with our partner litigation counsel (avocats).
Learn more 05Portfolio management
Monitoring of deadlines and renewals, recordal of assignments and licenses. Portfolio audits as the business evolves.
Learn more 06International protection
International trademark protection: EU trade mark, international registration (Madrid System), national filings. Coordination of proceedings with our local associates.
Learn moreIdentify the risks before you commit
Choosing a trademark involves more than checking that an identical name has not already been filed. Signs that are visually, phonetically or conceptually similar can also be obstacles, particularly where they cover identical or similar goods or services. Neither the INPI nor the EUIPO checks for earlier rights during examination: registration does not amount to validation.
NextMarq carries out clearance searches tailored to the activities and territories concerned. These searches may cover French trademarks, EU trade marks and international registrations having effect in the countries under review and, where needed, company names, trade names, shop signs and domain names.
The results undergo a legal analysis to assess the relevance of the rights identified and the risks they pose to the project. They lead to a reasoned recommendation: keep the sign, adapt it or explore another name.
Build protection suited to your business
Filing a trademark requires a precise definition of the sign to be protected, the goods and services concerned and the territories in which protection is sought. These choices have lasting consequences: after filing, the sign can no longer be altered, and the list of goods and services can be restricted but never extended.
Drafting the list of goods and services is a decisive step. Too narrow a specification can needlessly limit the scope of the registration, while an excessively broad list can generate additional costs and, over time, expose some goods or services to revocation for non-use.
We prepare and file your trademarks with the INPI, the EUIPO and, where relevant, through the international system administered by WIPO. Our work covers defining the filing strategy, drafting the list of goods and services, completing the formalities and following the application through to registration.
Detect the risks before they grow
Registering a trademark is not enough to preserve its value over time. The owner must remain alert to new filings that could create a likelihood of confusion with its own signs. The time to react is limited: the opposition period is two months at the INPI and three months at the EUIPO, from publication of the application; after that, other courses of action may remain open, depending on the circumstances.
NextMarq sets up watch services tailored to the trademarks, business sectors and territories concerned. They identify applications for identical or similar trademarks published by the competent offices. The results are reviewed in order to distinguish the filings that present a real risk from those that do not call for any particular action.
When a potentially conflicting trademark is detected, we inform the owner of what is at stake and of the possible actions within the applicable time limits: an amicable approach, a request to limit the application or, where the circumstances warrant it, opposition proceedings.
Defend your rights with sound judgment
Defending a trademark does not necessarily mean bringing proceedings. Each situation calls for an assessment of the rights involved, the legal risk, the commercial interests and the objectives pursued.
NextMarq analyzes conflicts between trademarks, prepares defense strategies and conducts the proceedings that fall within its remit, in particular oppositions and invalidity or revocation actions before the INPI and the EUIPO. We act in the same way when it is your own trademarks that are challenged. The analysis covers, among other things, the strength of the rights relied on and, where the legal conditions are met, the possibility of requiring proof of their genuine use.
Depending on the circumstances, an amicable approach may secure the withdrawal or limitation of a trademark application, the modification of a sign or the conclusion of a coexistence agreement. Where the dispute requires court action, we work in coordination with the litigation counsel (avocats) in charge of the proceedings.
Organize and enhance the value of your intangible assets
A trademark portfolio must evolve with the company's activities, organization and markets. Managing it involves more than monitoring renewal deadlines. It also means ensuring that ownership is consistent, that the rights cover the right territories, that the lists of goods and services match the activities actually carried on, and that recordals in the registers are in order.
We administer and monitor portfolios, including existing portfolios that we take over: renewals, changes of ownership, assignments, licenses. Recording these transactions contributes to the legal security of the portfolio and must be assessed under the rules applicable to each right.
NextMarq advises you on the negotiation and drafting of agreements relating to your trademarks, including licenses, assignments, coexistence agreements and other commercial arrangements. We ensure that these agreements are consistent with your portfolio strategy and, where necessary, arrange their recordal with the relevant intellectual property offices.
We also audit portfolios in order to identify the rights to be maintained, strengthened, extended or abandoned. This analysis helps to rationalize protection costs and to keep the portfolio consistent with the company's commercial and asset-management objectives.
Protect your trademarks in your strategic markets
Trademark protection is territorial. A French or EU registration does not, in itself, confer rights in all the countries where a company plans to develop its business. An international strategy therefore requires identifying the priority markets, the territories of manufacture or distribution and the risks attached to using the sign in the countries concerned.
We define with you the strategy for protection abroad and implement it, in particular through EU trade marks, international registrations and national filings. Timing matters: applications filed abroad within six months of the first filing can claim its date. This is the right of priority.
We coordinate the necessary steps with our network of local associates wherever a local representative is required.
Key takeaway
The quality of a trademark depends on three things: the soundness of the clearance search, the precision of the list of goods and services, and the regularity of the watch. Neglecting one undermines the other two.
INPI · EUIPO · WIPO
NextMarq acts directly before the French National Institute of Industrial Property (France), the European Union Intellectual Property Office (European Union) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (international).
In other countries, we coordinate proceedings with our local associates.
"You do not receive a list of results. You receive a legal position, together with a strategy and a recommended course of action."
NextMarq — Aix-en-Provence
What our clients ask us
The most frequently asked questions, with direct answers.