Trademark glossary
Last updated : 27 September 2026
A
- Applicant
- The person or company in whose name the trademark application is filed.
- Example : Belle de Lyon SARL files the mark: it is the applicant.
- → Trademark filing, step by step
- Assignment
- Transfer of ownership of the mark to a new owner, to be recorded in the register.
- Example : The founder assigns the mark filed in his name to his new company.
- → After filing: tracking and maintaining your mark
- Availability
- No earlier right standing in the way of the mark. It is never 100% guaranteed.
- Example : A similarity search assesses NEXORA's availability in class 42.
- → Checking trademark availability
C
- Class
- One of the 45 categories of the Nice Classification (1–34 goods, 35–45 services).
- Example : Class 25: clothing, footwear, headwear.
- → Choosing goods, services and classes
D
- Distinctive sign
- A sign able to identify the origin of goods or services. A descriptive term (“Super Bread” for bread) is not.
- Example : “VELORA” for bicycles is distinctive; “FAST BIKE” is not.
- → Checking trademark availability
E
- Earlier right
- An older right (mark, company name, domain…) that may conflict with your mark.
- Example : LUMINERA, filed earlier for perfumes, is an earlier right against LUMINARA.
- → Checking trademark availability
F
- Figurative mark
- A mark protecting a logo or graphic presentation, with or without words.
- Example : The LUMINARA logo with its stylised sun.
- → Trademarks and e-commerce
- Filing receipt
- Proof of filing showing the number and date. It does not prove registration.
- Example : LUMINARA's INPI receipt shows the filing number and date.
- → Trademark filing, step by step
G
- Goods and services
- What you sell under the mark: objects (goods) or services.
- Example : Creams (goods, class 3) and beauty treatments (services, class 44).
- → Choosing goods, services and classes
I
- Invalidity
- Retroactive cancellation of a mark that should not have been registered (earlier right, lack of distinctiveness, bad faith).
- Example : A mark filed in bad faith to block a competitor can be declared invalid.
- → After filing: tracking and maintaining your mark
L
- Licence
- A contract by which the owner allows a third party to use the mark without transferring ownership.
- Example : VELORA allows an Italian distributor to sell under its mark.
- → After filing: tracking and maintaining your mark
O
- Opposition
- A procedure where the owner of an earlier right challenges an application within a set period.
- Example : The owner of NEXXORA opposes NEXORA at the EUIPO.
- → After filing: tracking and maintaining your mark
- Owner (proprietor)
- The current owner of the filed or registered mark. Usually the “applicant” of a mark becomes the “owner” of that mark once it is registered.
- Example : After assignment, company B becomes owner instead of A.
- → Trademark filing, step by step
P
- Priority
- The right to claim, within 6 months, the date of a first filing when filing in other countries.
- Example : French filing on 1 March, Swiss filing on 15 August with priority of 1 March.
- → Treaties and international protection
- Publication
- Official announcement of the application or registration by the office. It is not a certificate.
- Example : The BELLE DE LYON application is published in the BOPI.
- → Trademark filing, step by step
R
- Registration certificate
- A document issued by the office proving the mark is registered.
- Example : NEXORA's EUIPO certificate shows the registration date and the final specification.
- → Trademark filing, step by step
- Renewal
- Extending protection for a further 10 years, requested before expiry.
- Example : A mark registered in 2026 is renewed around 2036.
- → After filing: tracking and maintaining your mark
- Representative
- An agent acting before the office on the applicant's behalf.
- Example : YAMARK receives EUIPO letters as representative.
- → Trademark offices
- Revocation
- Loss of rights, notably for lack of genuine use for 5 years, for the goods or services concerned.
- Example : A mark never used for bags may be revoked for bags.
- → After filing: tracking and maintaining your mark
S
- Specification
- The precise list of goods and services in each class. It sets the scope of protection.
- Example : Class 9: “downloadable accounting software”.
- → Choosing goods, services and classes
W
- Word mark
- A mark made only of words, letters or numbers, with no specific design.
- Example : NEXORA filed in standard characters.
- → Trademarks and e-commerce