Glossary
French: nom de marque
The brand name (nom de marque) is the denomination for which a trademark is filed. In everyday speech it is simply called “the trademark” or “the brand” — but legally, a trademark consists of a brand name (also called the sign) and a list of goods and services. The brand name is the designation by which the mark will be referred to.
Not all marks include a word at all: it is possible to register colors, sounds, and logos without any lettering as trademarks. In those cases the “name” of the brand exists only commercially, not as part of the registration.
US marketing and legal usage tends to distinguish “brand” (the commercial identity) from “trademark” (the legal right). French usage compounds the ambiguity because marque means both. When French counsel refers to the nom de marque, they mean the verbal element as filed — what a US practitioner might call the word mark or the literal element of the mark. Whether that verbal element is protectable depends on its distinctive character for the goods and services covered.
Before adopting a brand name for the French or EU market, its availability should be verified through a trademark clearance search.
See also: trademark, availability of a sign, trademark filing.