January 5, 2011
This is due to an action for infringement of Laboratoires Pierre Fabre against organic cosmetics brand Clairjoie that this ruling was pronounced.
The company Pierre Fabre claimed to be holder of the trademark "Argane", under which it markets since 1985 a product line based on several extracts from the argan tree. The laboratory argued the neologism "argane" was created to "feminize" the term "argan oil", and accused the company Clairjoie to have marketed a product called "Shea-Argane", witch represented infringement and "parasitism".

But according to the court, the term "argane" is like "argan", "a word of Arabic origin known on the French territory since at least the early 19th century to designate a Moroccon tree and its fruit". He therefore considered that the word "Argane" should remain freely available to all market players, made the declaration of brand invalidity and dismissed Pierre Fabre.

For Vanessa Bouchara, counsel for the company Clairjoie, "This decision enshrines the principle that a company can try to grab a monopoly on a term that refers to characterizing the product by making your deposit and then trying to oppose such a filing with other market players who exploit the term in its plain …