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Article 315: If the importer fails to meet the goals which justified the Minister’s decision to
consider the rights in the mark exhausted, the Minister shall revoke the
authorization on his own initiative or at the request of the owner of the mark.
Article 316: In the event that the conditions underlying the Minister’s decision to consider
the rights in the mark exhausted no longer obtain, the Minister may, on his own
initiative or at the request of the owner of the mark, revoke the authorization
without prejudice to the legitimate interests of the importer, in particular the
right to clear his stock.
Article 317: The Minister responsible for public health may take steps to limit the use of
marks in order to facilitate the prescription of pharmaceutical products and
generic medical devices and access to such products and devices in order to
dissuade the public from consuming products deemed harmful to health,
provided these steps do not further unjustifiably reduce the capacity of the mark
in question to distinguish the products of one firm from those of another.
Section 3: Term and renewal of marks
Article 318: Registrations shall have effect for 10 years as from the date on which the
application for registration was filed.
Article 319: Registrations of a mark may, at the holder’s request, be renewed for consecutive
ten-year periods, subject to payment of the prescribed renewal fee.
In the case of late payment, a six-month period shall be granted for the payment
of the renewal fee, increased by a prescribed surcharge for late payment. If
payment is not made, the registered mark shall become invalid. Should this be
the case, it may not be restored.
Chapter V: Revocation and removal owing to failure to use
Section 1: Revocation of marks
Article 320: Any interested person may request the court to revoke the registration of a mark.
Requests for revocation may be filed within a period of five years starting from
the date of grant of the certificate of registration, except if the registration was
obtained in bad faith or in violation of Article 288, paragraph 7, in which case
there shall be no time limit for lodging such a request.
Article 321: The court shall revoke the registration if the applicant can prove that one of the
conditions provided for in Articles 288 to 295 has not been met, or if the
provisions of Articles 254 and 355 have not been respected.
Article 322: Revocation of the registration of a mark shall be deemed to take effect from the
date of registration. It must be entered and give rise to a notice published in the
regulations.