Glossary
French: déchéance pour dégénérescence
Déchéance pour dégénérescence is the French equivalent of genericide: a registered mark can be revoked when it has lost all distinctive, origin-indicating function and has become a word of everyday language used to designate goods or services from multiple economic operators, with no identifiable single source. US counsel will recognize the doctrine that ended aspirin and escalator as trademarks.
The monopoly granted to a trademark owner presupposes that the mark distinguishes goods and services. Once a mark no longer identifies the products of one specific business and no longer lets consumers repeat a positive purchasing experience, the monopoly serves no consumer purpose and must end.
Under Article L.714-6 of the Intellectual Property Code, revocation is granted only if the mark became the usual trade designation as a result of the owner’s activity or inactivity (see also CJEU, June 6, 2014, C-409/12, point 32). US genericness turns on consumer perception alone; France adds this attribution requirement. Illustration: CITY STADE was found to have become the usual French term for a multi-sport field, yet the mark survived because the evolution was not attributable to its owner (INPI, February 24, 2022, DC 21-0032). By contrast, TEXTO was cancelled once the term merely described SMS services across all operators (see trademark cancellation).
Genericide is a process the owner can and must actively fight — through consistent trademark use, policing and trademark watch programs.
See also: distinctiveness, trademark revocation.