“Tour de France”: A New Milestone for Well-Known Trademarks
[01/04/2025]
In a ruling dated March 19, 2025, the Cour de cassation clarified the principles governing the protection of well-known trademarks in a dispute involving the “Tour de France” trademark.
The company organizing the famous cycling event challenged the validity of the semi-figurative trademark “Tour de France à la rame,” alleging infringement of the reputation of its trademark.
The Court of Appeal had dismissed its claim, holding that the reputation of “Tour de France” was limited to cycling.
The Cour de cassation overturned this analysis, finding that the Court of Appeal had unduly restricted the scope of the trademark’s reputation, which extends well beyond cycling due to “such exceptional intensity that it is known to the entire French public,” and had thus underestimated the risk of dilution.
The case is therefore referred back to the Court of Appeal, which will have to reconsider this case.
This ruling once again illustrates the extent of the protection afforded to well-known trademarks, whose enforceability is reinforced by the highest authority.