Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property

A Article 6ter

(1) (a) The countries of the Union agree to refuse or to invalidate the
registration, and to prohibit by appropriate measures the use, without
authorization by the competent authorities, either as trademarks or as
elements of trademarks, of armorial bearings, flags, and other State
emblems, of the countries of the Union, official signs and hallmarks
indicating control and warranty adopted by them, and any imitation from a
heraldic point of view.

(b) The provisions of subparagraph (a), above, shall apply equally to
armorial bearings, flags, other emblems, abbreviations, and names, of
international intergovernmental organizations of which one or more
countries of the Union are members, with the exception of armorial
bearings, flags, other emblems, abbreviations, and names, that are already
the subject of international agreements in force, intended to ensure their
protection.

(c) No country of the Union shall be required to apply the provisions of
subparagraph (b), above, to the prejudice of the owners of rights acquired
in good faith before the entry into force, in that country , of this
Convention. The countries of the Union shall not be required to apply the
said provisions when the use or registration referred to in subparagraph
(a), above, is not of such a nature as to suggest to the public that a
connection exists between the organization concerned and the armorial
bearings, flags, emblems, abbreviations, and names, or if such use or
registration is probably not of such a nature as to mislead the public as
to the existence of a connection between the user and the organization.

(2) Prohibition of the use of official signs and hallmarks indicating
control and warranty shall apply solely in cases where the marks in which
they are incorporated are intended to be used on goods of the same or a
similar kind.

(3) (a) For the application of these provisions, the countries of the Union
agree to communicate reciprocally, through the intermediary of the
International Bureau, the list of State emblems, and official signs and
hallmarks indicating control and warranty, which they desire, or may
hereafter desire, to place wholly or within certain limits under the
protection of this Article, and all subsequent modifications of such list.
Each country of the Union shall in due course make available to the public
the lists so communicated.

Nevertheless such communication is not obligatory in respect of flags of
States.

(b) The provisions of subparagraph (b) of paragraph (1) of this Article
shall apply only to such armorial bearings, flags, other emblems,
abbreviations, and names, of international intergovernmental organizations
as the latter have communicated to the countries of the Union through the
intermediary of the International Bureau.

(4) Any country of the Union may, within a period of twelve months from the
receipt of the notification, transmit its objections, if any, through the
intermediary of the International Bureau, to the country or international
intergovernmental organization concerned.

(5) In the case of State flags, the measures prescribed by paragraph (1),
above, shall apply solely to marks registered after November 6, 1925.

(6) In the case of State emblems other than flags, and of official signs
and hallmarks of the countries of the Union, and in the case of armorial
bearings, flags, other emblems, abbreviations, and names, of international
intergovernmental organizations, these provisions shall apply only to marks
registered more than two months after receipt of the communication provided
for in paragraph (3), above.

(7) In cases of bad faith, the countries shall have the right to cancel
even those marks incorporating State emblems, signs, and hallmarks, which
were registered before November 6, 1925.

(8) Nationals of any country who are authorized to make use of the State
emblems, signs, and hallmarks, of their country may use them even if they
are similar to those of another country.

(9) The countries of the Union undertake to prohibit the unauthorized use
in trade of the State armorial bearings of the other countries of the
Union, when the use is of such a nature as to be misleading as to the
origin of the goods.

(10) The above provisions shall not prevent the countries from exercising
the right given in paragraph (3) of Article 6quinquies, Section B, to
refuse or to invalidate the registration of marks incorporating, without
authorization, armorial bearings, flags, other State emblems, or official
signs and hallmarks adopted by a country of the Union, as well as the
distinctive signs of international intergovernmental organizations referred
to in paragraph (1), above.

Article 6quater

(1) When, in accordance with the law of a country of the Union, the
assignment of mark is valid only if it takes place at the same time as the
transfer of the business or goodwill to which the mark belongs, it shall
suffice for the recognition of such validity that the portion of the
business or goodwill located in that country be transferred to the
assignee, together with the exclusive right to manufacture in the said
country, or to sell therein, the goods bearing the mark assigned.

(2) The foregoing provision does not impose upon the countries of the Union
any obligation to regard as valid the assignment of any mark the use of
which by the assignee would, in fact, be of such a nature as to mislead the
public, particularly as regards the origin, nature, or essential qualities,
of the goods to which the mark is applied.

Article 6quinquies

A. (1) Every trademark duly registered in the country of origin shall be
accepted for filing and protected as is in the other countries of the
Union, subject to the reservations indicated in this Article. Such
countries may, before proceeding to final registration, require the
production of a certificate of registration in the country of origin,
issued by the competent authority. No authentication shall be required for
this certificate.

(2) Shall be considered the country of origin the country of the Union
where the applicant has a real and effective industrial or commercial
establishment, or, if he has no such establishment within the Union, the
country of the Union where he has his domicile, or, if he has no domicile
within the Union but is a national of a country of the Union, the country
of which he is a national.

B. Trademarks covered by this Article may be neither denied registration
nor invalidated except in the following cases:

1. when they are of such a nature as to infringe rights acquired by
third parties in the country where protection is claimed;

2. when they are devoid of any distinctive character, or consist
exclusively of signs or indications which may serve, in trade, to
designate the kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value, place
of origin, of the goods, or the time of production, or have become
customary in the current language or in the bona fide and established
practices of the trade of the country where protection is claimed;

3. when they are contrary to morality or public order and, in
particular, of such a nature as to deceive the public. It is
understood that a mark may not be considered contrary to public order
for the sole reason that it does not conform to a provision of the
legislation on marks, except if such provision itself relates to
public order.

This provision is subject, however, to the application of Article 10bis.

C. (1) In determining whether a mark is eligible for protection, all the
factual circumstances must be taken into consideration, particularly the
length of time the mark has been in use.

(2) No trademark shall be refused in the other countries of the Union for
the sole reason that it differs from the mark protected in the country of
origin only in respect of elements that do not alter its distinctive
character and do not affect its identity in the form in which it has been
registered in the said country of origin.

D. No person may benefit from the provisions of this Article if the mark
for which he claims protection is not registered in the country of origin.

E. However, in no case shall the renewal of the registration of the mark in
the country of origin involve an obligation to renew the registration in
the other countries of the Union in which the mark has been registered.

F. The benefit of priority shall remain unaffected for applications for the
registration of marks filed within the period fixed by Article 4, even if
registration in the country of origin is effected after the expiration of
such period.

Article 6sexies

The countries of the Union undertake to protect service marks. They shall
not be required to provide for the registration of such marks.

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, country.