Guide for French Patent Application Process

France Profile

France, officially the French Republic, consists of mainland France and several of its overseas territories. France borders the Bay of Biscay to the west, the English Channel to the northwest, the North Sea to the north, Belgium and Luxembourg to the northeast, Germany, Switzerland and Italy to the east, the MediterraRead more

France Profile

French Intellectual Property Legal System

Intellectual Property Code

International Organization/Agreement

Patent Law Treaty
Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks
Trademark Law Treaty
Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks
Patent Cooperation Treaty
The Strasbourg Agreement on the International Patent Classification
Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs
"Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization"
Nice Agreement on the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks
Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs
Madrid Agreement on the International Registration of Marks
Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property
Vienna Agreement Establishing an International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks

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Filing Language

French

申请流程 Application Process Flow

发明专利申请流程 Invention

Name of Patent Office

INPI

English: L'Institut national de la propriété industrielle, abbreviation: INPI

Website: www.inpi.fr

French Invention Patent Search: Recherche avancée - Data INPI

Since the revision of the Patent Law in France in 1968, the numbering rules for invention patent applications are as follows:
- [year of application] + [5-digit/6-digit serial number]
Invention patent applications are numbered from 00001, such as: FR061471, while invention patent applications are numbered from 2000001, such as: FR2895509 A1 (first publication); the authorized announcement number is the same as the publication number: FR 2895509B1 (secondary publication).
If the applicant fails to submit a search request and pay relevant fees to INPI within 18 months from the date of patent application, INPI will issue a utility certificate and an attached supplementary utility certificate to the applicant in accordance with the law (the supplementary utility certificate system was established in 1990) November 26), while the patent application number and the invention patent number of the utility certificate are arranged in the same serial number numbering system, such as: FR0756009; FR2902842A3; FR 2902842B3.
France's design patent application number coding rules have been adopted since 2010
- [4-digit AD year] + [4-digit serial number]
The French Supplementary Protection Certificate format is:
- 【FR】+【2-digit AD year】+【C】+【4-digit serial number】

Document Requirements

Filing Language: French
via Paris Convention
Necessary documents: Abstract Abstract Drawing Claim Specification Drawing
Attachments (if any) Sequence Listing (PDF format and TXT format) Deposited Receipt of Microorganism and French Translation Viability Statement of Microorganism and French Translation Certified Priority Document Declaration of Ownership/Certification of Employment/Assignment of Priority Assignment for Patent Right Transfer Notification issued by CNIPA notify the applicant the application has passed through the security review. A copy of the Articles of Incorporation or the Business Register of Incorporation Reference documents cited in seacrch report from other countries based on the same priority claim under the request of INPI

Term of Protection

20 years

Due Date

via Paris Convention : 12 months from earliest priority date.
via Validation of European Patent in EPO member states: 3 months from the date of European patent grant.

Application Process Flow

France revised the patent law and conduct a formality and substantive examination for invention patent application since May 22, 2020. For patent applications filed after the revision of the patent law, in addition to examining industrial applicability and novelty, it is also necessary to examine inventiveness. In France, an invention patent and a utility model patent may be filed simultaneously on the same subject matter.

Novelty Grace Period

The novelty grace period is 6 months before the filing date/priority date.

Grant Average time

2-3 years

Grant and Annuity

Grant Fee: The grant fee must be paid within 2 months from the date of issuance of the grant notice.
Annuity: Annuity should be paid year by year starting from the 1st year of application and the annual fee for the 1st year is included in the filing fee. The annual fee for the 2nd year should be paid on the anniversary date of the application. If the annual fee is overdue, the applicant can pay it within a grace period of 6 months, and pay a panelty at the same time.

Restoration of Priority

Yes. Patent Office accepts "Unintentional" requests for restoration of the right of priority.

DAS

Yes

Conversion

实用新型申请流程 Utility Model

Name of Patent Office

INPI

English: L'Institut national de la propriété industrielle, abbreviation: INPI

Website: www.inpi.fr

French Utility Model Search: Recherche avancée - Data INPI

Since the revision of the Patent Law in France in 1968, the numbering rules for invention patent applications are as follows:
- [year of application] + [5-digit/6-digit serial number]
Invention patent applications are numbered from 00001, such as: FR061471, while invention patent applications are numbered from 2000001, such as: FR2895509 A1 (first publication); the authorized announcement number is the same as the publication number: FR 2895509B1 (secondary publication).
If the applicant fails to submit a search request and pay relevant fees to INPI within 18 months from the date of patent application, INPI will issue a utility certificate and an attached supplementary utility certificate to the applicant in accordance with the law (the supplementary utility certificate system was established in 1990) November 26), while the patent application number and the invention patent number of the utility certificate are arranged in the same serial number numbering system, such as: FR0756009; FR2902842A3; FR 2902842B3.
France's design patent application number coding rules have been adopted since 2010
- [4-digit AD year] + [4-digit serial number]
The French Supplementary Protection Certificate format is:
- 【FR】+【2-digit AD year】+【C】+【4-digit serial number】

Document Requirements

Filing Language: French
via Paris Convention
Necessary documents: Abstract Abstract Drawing Claim Specification Drawing
Attachments (if any) Certified Priority Document Declaration of Ownership/Certification of Employment/Assignment of priority Assignment for Patent Right Transfer Notification issued by CNIPA notify the applicant the application has passed through the security review Declaration of Small Entity Declaration of Inventorship A copy of the Articles of Incorporation or the Business Register of Incorporation Reference documents cited in seacrch report from other countries based on the same priority claim under the request of INPI

Term of Protection

10 years

Due date

via Paris Convention : 12 months from earliest priority date.

Application Process Flow

INPI only conducts formality examination for utility model patent applications, and does not conduct search and substantive examination. However, a request for search report needs to be filed in case of litigation. In France, an invention patent and a utility model patent can be applied for at the same time for the same invention subject, and the French utility model can protect the process.

Novelty Grace Period

The novelty grace period is 6 months before the filing date/priority date.

Grant and Annuity

Grant Fee: The applicant needs to pay the grant fee after receiving the granted notice.
Annuity: Annuity should be paid year by year starting from the 1st year of application and the annual fee for the 1st year is included in the filing fee. The annual fee for the 2nd year should be paid on the anniversary date of the patent application. If the annual fee is overdue, you can pay it within a grace period of 6 months, and pay a penalty at the same time.

Grant Average time

1-2 years

Restoration of Priority

Yes. Patent Office accepts "Unintentional" requests for restoration of the right of priority.

Conversion

No. Utility models filed before January 11, 2020 can be converted into inventions, provided that the technical preparations for publication are completed (approximately 16 months from the filing date). It is necessary to pay the search fee and file request for the search report at the same time.

DAS

Yes

外观设计申请流程 Design

Name of Patent Office

INPI

English: L'Institut national de la propriété industrielle, INPI

Website: www.inpi.fr

French Design Patent Application Search: Recherche avancée - Data INPI

Since the revision of the Patent Law in France in 1968, the numbering rules for invention patent applications are as follows:
- [year of application] + [5-digit/6-digit serial number]
Invention patent applications are numbered from 00001, such as: FR061471, while invention patent applications are numbered from 2000001, such as: FR2895509 A1 (first publication); the authorized announcement number is the same as the publication number: FR 2895509B1 (secondary publication).
If the applicant fails to submit a search request and pay relevant fees to INPI within 18 months from the date of patent application, INPI will issue a utility certificate and an attached supplementary utility certificate to the applicant in accordance with the law (the supplementary utility certificate system was established in 1990) November 26), while the patent application number and the invention patent number of the utility certificate are arranged in the same serial number numbering system, such as: FR0756009; FR2902842A3; FR 2902842B3.
France's design patent application number coding rules have been adopted since 2010
- [4-digit AD year] + [4-digit serial number]
The French Supplementary Protection Certificate format is:
- 【FR】+【2-digit AD year】+【C】+【4-digit serial number】

Document Requirements

Filing Language: French

Necessary documents:

Pictures/Photos of Design (6-sided views)
A Brief Description

Attachments (if any):

Power of Attorney
Certified Priority Document
Declaration of Ownership/Certification of Employment/Assignment of Priority
Assignment for Patent Right Transfer
Declaration of Small Entity
Declaration of Inventorship
A copy of the Articles of Incorporation or the Business Register of Incorporation

Term of Protection

Initial term of an industrial design registration is five years from the filing date, extendable four times up to 25 years.

Due Date

via Paris Convention : 6 months from earliest priority date.
via EU Community Design: 6 months from earliest priority date.
via Hague System: 6 months from earliest priority date.

Application Process Flow

INPI only conducts formality examination of design applications.

Novelty Grace Period

The novelty grace period is 12 months before the filing date/priority date.

Grant and Annuity

Grant Fee: None.
Annuity: The renewal fee is paid every 5 years. The renewal fee must be paid within 6 months before the last day of the month when the registration expires. The grace period for the penalty is 6 months, and the penalty must be paid at the same time.