France: Does Kadjar refer to the Iranian dynasty or to the new Renault crossover?

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

France: Does Kadjar refer to the Iranian dynasty or to the new Renault crossover?

Karim Kadjar, an actor and descendant of the Iranian Kadjar dynasty which reigned over Iran from 1786 to 1925, did not appreciate the adoption by the French company Renault of the name Kadjar as a trade mark and keyword on internet search engines for designating its new crossover utility vehicle.

Indeed, in January 2015, Renault launched its new crossover with French and European trade marks for Kadjar in class 12 for "vehicles".

Consequently, Karim Kadjar filed a cancellation action against the French trade mark Kadjar (number 144065320) before the Tribunal de Grande Instance (TGI) in March 2015 based on Aticle L711-4 of the French IP Code which states that "a mark may not be adopted if it infringes earlier rights including… g) the personality rights of a third party including his surname…" and on provisions of general civil law (Articles 9 and 1382 of the Civil Code).

The question is whether there is a risk of confusion or a risk of association for the relevant public, which is the average French consumer of vehicles, between the trade mark and this family name and if the surname Kadjar was famous when the trade mark was filed.

The TGI issued a decision on June 9 2016 considering that, on the filing date of the trade mark, despite the important volume of evidence, the family name has a limited reputation in France, except for a very specific public interested in Iranian history.

Therefore, in the absence of reputation of this family name, there is no likelihood of confusion for the relevant consumer.

Is this trade mark deceptive ?

Karim Kadjar considers that the trade mark misleads the consumer, who may consider that the goods are manufactured in Iran or with the heirs' authorisation. The French TGI also rejects this argument, considering that there is no risk of confusion, and therefore the consumer cannot be deceived, due to the lack of notoriety of this family name.

At this stage, Renault can continue the sale of its Renault Kadjar.

Nevertheless this is a reminder that it is important to conduct searches and check the possible notoriety of a family name before adopting a new trade mark consisting of a family name.

ingrid.jpg

Ingrid Corviole-Parent


Gevers & Ores41, avenue de FriedlandParis 75008, FranceTel: +33 1 45 00 48 48Fax: +33 1 40 67 95 67paris@gevers.euwww.gevers.eu

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Tim Gilman, who joined Kasowitz alongside three other partners, says he is excited to be part of the firm’s ‘elite’ litigation team
A backlash against a White House video promoting deportation and Casalonga opening a new office in Düsseldorf were also among the top talking points
The firm has brought on board two counsel and an associate to complement two previously revealed partner hires
Bradford Newman, who has joined the firm’s new Silicon Valley office as head of complex technology disputes, discusses plans to build the practice group and attract local talent
Managing IP summarises the highlights from the IP STARS rankings for copyright and IP transactions work, the final firm rankings release of the year
Developments included the first judgment from the Nordic Baltic division, an injunction covering the UK, and a new code of conduct
Alston & Bird acted for InterDigital, while Samsung was represented by Fish & Richardson, during the arbitration process
Powell Gilbert lawyers reveal how they navigated parallel EPO proceedings and collaborated with European peers to come out on top in the Nordic-Baltic Division’s first judgment
The firms posted increases in revenue and profit per equity partner, with both giving a nod to their IP expertise
EasyGroup, the owner of the easyJet airline, said in a press release that UK-based first-instance judges are “less experienced”, bringing a long-running debate back to the fore
Gift this article