“Chanel v. Easy Cash”
摘要
The supply by the trade mark proprietor to its authorised distributors of articles bearing that trade mark, intended for demonstration to consumers in authorised sales outlets, and of bottles bearing that trade mark, small quantities of which may be taken to be given to consumers as free samples, does not, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, constitute putting on the market and thus entail exhaustion of the trade mark owner’s rights. It follows from Art. 713-4(2) of the Intellectual Property Code that, despite a product having been lawfully put on the market, the trade mark proprietor remains entitled to oppose any further marketing if he can show legitimate reasons, relating in particular to the subsequent change or impairment of the condition of the goods (here: in the case of perfumes and cosmetics, any partial use of a product leads to its impairment, which is seriously prejudicial to the image of the brand – Chanel – and to the world of luxury and purity that it conveys).