A trademark in Cameroon identifies the source of a product, while a service mark in Cameroon identifies the source of a service.
Trademark: A mark used for goods or products. For example, a company might register the name and logo of a specific product.
Collective trademark/service mark: Used by members of a collective to indicate that their products or services originate from the organization and meet its standards.
Service mark: A mark used for services. A restaurant would use a service mark for its name
Right to the Mark
Ownership of a mark shall vest in the person who files it first.
No person may claim exclusive ownership of a mark by performing the acts specified in the law unless he has filed it for registration in accordance with the conditions prescribed in Article 8 of the law.
Where a mark has been filed by a person who at the time of filing knew, or should have known that another person had a prior right to use the said mark, the latter may file a claim of ownership of the mark with the organization, provided that he does so within six months following the publication of the record of the first filing.
The organization shall rule on the priority claim after an inter partes proceeding provided by the law.
The use of a mark may only be proved by written or printed matter or documents contemporaneous with the facts that they seek to establish.
Well-Known Marks
The owner of a well-known mark within the meaning of Article 6bis of the Paris Convention for the protection of Industrial Property and Article 16 of the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights may apply to the court for the invalidation, on the national territory of one of the member states, of the effects of the filing of a mark liable to be confused with his own. Such action may not be taken after a period of five years has expired following the date of the application in so far as the latter was filed in good faith.
Rights Conferred by Registration
Registration of a mark confers on its owner the exclusive right to use the mark, or a sign resembling it, in connection with the goods or services for which it has been registered and similar goods or services.
Registration of the mark likewise confers on the owner the exclusive right to prevent all third parties from making use in business without his consent, of identical or similar signs for goods or services that are themselves similar to those for which the trademark or service mark has been registered where such use is liable to cause confusion. Where an identical sign is used for identical goods and services, a risk of confusion shall be presumed to exist.
Registration of the mark does not confer on its owner the right to prohibit a third party from making use in good faith of his name or address, a pseudonym, a geographical name or accurate information concerning the nature, quality, quantity, purpose, value, place of origin or time of production of his goods or rendering of his services in so far as the use in question is limited to the purpose of mere identification or information and cannot mislead the public as to the source of the goods or services.
Registration of a mark does not confer on its owner the right to prohibit a third party from making use of the mark in relation to goods that have been lawfully sold under the mark on the national territory of the member state in which the right of prohibition is exercised, on condition that the goods have not undergone any alteration.