Still within the three-month publication period. File an opposition — the cheapest and fastest option available.
Registered for less than five years. File an invalidation action with CNIPA. Common grounds include conflict with a prior trademark right, well-known mark status, infringement of another party's prior rights, bad-faith registration of a mark previously used by another party with a certain level of influence, and registration in bad faith without intent to use.
Registered for more than five years. Invalidation is generally time-barred, with two exceptions: the five-year limit does not apply to the bad-faith registration of a well-known mark, nor to absolute grounds raised under Article 44.
In any of the above situations, administrative complaints and civil proceedings can be assessed in parallel, and a non-use cancellation becomes available once the mark has been registered for three years.
It is usually worth acting on several fronts at once: completing defensive filings in the classes that matter, putting a watch service in place, and screening the squatter and its affiliates for further filings — squatting is rarely an isolated act.
