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Mai 19, 2014
Charlotte Urman, Inlex Expertise, France
Stéphanie Buchillot, Inlex Expertise, France

At daggers down…The Laguiole’s saga


Charlotte Urman, Inlex Expertise, France, Stéphanie Buchillot, Inlex Expertise, FranceThe name of a town, a region or even a country, is often linked to its history and traditions whatever the concerned field: industry, commerce, culture, local culinary specialty. France is particularly rich with local traditions and know-how! Dijon and its mustard, Aix and its Calissons, Evian and its mineral water, Cannes and its cinema, Grasse and its perfume… The French Communes currently show a growing interest in the protection of their name (and also identifying elements such as device, blazon, etc.) as an IP asset. For some, a real licensing and derived products strategy is developed.
The aim is to avoid, or to be able to defend against, any use of their name by a foreigner and to guarantee the peaceful use to their citizens, that is to keep control on their own name. A major explanation for this new trend is, the judicial Laguiole saga that animates all the debates and illustrates how the things can go wrong if the strategy has not been well elaborated and managed.
For almost 15 years, the Courts have seen  read more