Priority right in trademark filing: how it works
Six-month window, retroactive filing date, defensive use: how the priority right works when extending a trademark internationally.
Filing a trademark requires several decisions: type of mark (word or figurative), choice of classes, goods and services, and choice of territory. If the initial choice proves unsuitable — for example, filing a French mark when an EU mark would have been more appropriate — the priority system offers a second chance.
Article 4 of the Paris Convention (transposed into Article L712-12 of the French Intellectual Property Code) provides that any person who has filed a trademark in a signatory country has a six-month window from the filing date to claim priority in another signatory country. The second mark will be given the same filing date as the first, retroactively.
The two marks must be identical in every respect: same word or figurative form, same classes, same goods or services. Each designated country examines the mark under its own rules. Priority must be claimed at the time of the second filing, with proof of the initial filing (typically a filing certificate).
The two marks share their filing date but remain entirely independent. If one ceases to be valid in a given country, the other remains in force. The term of protection of the second mark runs from the priority date, not the actual filing date.
The priority right is essentially defensive. If a third party files an identical or similar mark during the priority period, it is possible to seek its invalidation or to oppose it: the third-party mark will not constitute an enforceable prior right, since the filing date of the second mark is set retroactively to the date of the first.
Priority allows applicants to reduce costs by filing quickly in a key country, then extending to secondary markets. It also allows businesses to begin operating in a territory before deciding whether to file. For the filing process, see the trademark filing guide and the intellectual property services page.
The priority right is a strategic tool for optimising international trademark filings. If you are considering extending your mark, book a call.
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