When your business begins to grow, protecting your trademark is no longer enough. Monitoring new filings becomes essential to anticipate risks and defend your rights.

Detecting problematic filings

When a competitor files a mark too close to yours, failing to react in time can result in a loss of rights. Regular monitoring enables you to identify risky marks as soon as they are published, assess whether a likelihood of confusion exists, and decide whether opposition proceedings are warranted. Monitoring should cover not only identical marks but also similar ones (including name variations) for identical or similar goods and services.

Acting within the deadlines

In France and Europe, the opposition window is two to three months from publication. Once it closes, only more costly court proceedings remain. Monitoring ensures this window is not missed. For remedies against similar filings, see the article on responding to a similar trademark filing.

How to set up monitoring

Free tools provide an initial watch: Data INPI for French marks, TMView for European and international marks. TMView allows approximate searches, not limited to identical marks. For the filing process, see the trademark filing guide and the intellectual property services page.

Conclusion

Filing surveillance is a simple, strategic reflex. If you would like to set up a monitoring strategy, book a call.

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