Article 35
Defense of the Collective Mark
Any member of the group owning the collective mark may institute the civil and
criminal proceedings provided for in this Annex, on condition that he proves the failure of the
said group to act and calls upon it to act.
Article 36
Transfer, Invalidity and Forfeiture
of the Collective Mark
(1) Collective marks shall not be either assigned or transferred.
(2) Nevertheless, in the event of a legal merger, the Minister responsible for industrial
property may authorize its transfer to the new group created by the merger.
(3) The court may declare a collective mark invalid or forfeit if
(a) the owner of the mark, as defined in Article 32, has ceased to exist;
(b) the rules governing its use are contrary to public policy or morality;
(c) the mark does not fulfill the conditions set forth in the provisions of this Title;
(d) the owner of the mark referred to in subparagraph (a) above has knowingly used the
collective mark, or allowed it to be used, under conditions other than those provided for in the
rules referred to in subparagraph (b) above.
(4) Where the collective mark has been declared invalid or forfeit, it may not be
appropriated for the same goods or services by virtue of a new registration or used for any
purpose at all. However, on the expiration of a period of ten years from the date of the final
decision declaring the mark invalid or forfeit, the said mark may be registered as such by a
group as defined in Article 32, provided that the latter has the same nationality as the previous
owner.
TITLE VI
PENALTIES
Article 37
Penalties for Unlawful Exploitation
of a Registered Mark
(1) The following persons shall be punished by a fine of 1,000,000 to 6,000,000 CFA
francs and with imprisonment for a term of three months to two years:
(a) those who fraudulently affix on their goods or on objects traded by them a mark
belonging to another;
(b) those who knowingly sell or offer for sale one or more goods bearing a counterfeit
or fraudulently affixed mark, or those who knowingly sell, offer for sale, provide or offer to
provide goods or services under such a mark;
(c) those who make a fraudulent imitation of a mark in such a way as to mislead the
buyer or who make use of a fraudulently imitated mark;
(d) those who knowingly sell or offer for sale one or more goods bearing a fraudulently
imitated mark or information liable to mislead the buyer as to the nature of the goods, or those
who provide or offer to provide goods or services under such a mark.