Protect your business by registering your brands officially with the local trademark office of France. Once registered, you can enforce your legal rights over the trademark and prevent others from using it in France.
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Straightforward hassle free services. We strive to make it easy.
Expert AgentsAn IP consultant will be assigned to you, through whom you will be able to request all your IP services
Worldwide ServicesRegardless of the amount of countries you need assistance in, we will be able to cover it. We work in over 180 jurisdictions
No Hidden ChargesAll prices are clear and without hidden costs. We have competitive and straightforward pricing
Free ConsultationOur team is standing by to clarify any questions you may have regarding trademarks and IP in any country of the world
Search prices
First class $100 - Each additional class $80
Application prices
First class $700 - Each additional class $300
The description of goods/services includes up to 4000 characters per class; beyond that, additional charges will apply.
The average application process takes 4 months.
This is an estimated process time for straightforward cases based on current timeframes for applications. It may vary considerably.
No documents are necessary.
To obtain trademark protection in France, one can either file a local application or a European Union trademark.
Local applications are filed through the Institut National de la Propriété Industrielle (INPI), and automatically grant protection in Martinique, Guadeloupe, St. Barthélemy, French Saint-Martin, French Guiana, Reunion Island, New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna Islands, Mayotte, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon and the French Southern and Antarctic Lands. The trademarks may be extended to the French Polynesia.
European Union Trademarks (EUTM) offer protection in France as well as all the other member countries of the European Union.
If you register a combined trademark (which includes both word elements and figurative elements) in France, the exclusive right to use the trademark is limited to a use of the trademark is limited to a use of the trademark in the exact configuration or way in which it was filed and registered. If you wish to use the word element of your trademark separately from the logo (or vice versa), it is recommended you register for another trademark including only the word or figurative elements you wish to use and protect separately.
Nevertheless, if a third party eventually intends to register or use a trademark for similar goods or services that includes a primary or distinct part or portion of your trademark, you will have the right to oppose the application based on confusing similarity. Probabilities of success for an opposition will vary in each case depending on the circumstances.
After the application has been filed, the INPI will simultaneously publish it and begin the examination to check whether the trademark is acceptable for registration. The INPI does not check the existence of identical or confusingly similar filed or registered trademarks.
In order to check before filing whether a trademark have high chances of being considered as suitable for registration, you can order a trademark search. This can be done locally for trademarks filed only in France, or you can widen the scope and order a European Union trademark search, which will also reveal similar trademarks filed or registered in any other EU country.
During the publication period of two months from the publication date, third parties can file both oppositions based on a prior right (for instance, a previously registered trademark) or observations based on absolute grounds (for example, that the proposed mark is merely descriptive).
France is a “first-to-file” jurisdiction, which means that except in some specific cases, the rights to a trademark are granted to the first person to file it, not the first person to use it. Use of the trademark before registration is not necessary and will not help overcome objections raised on grounds of lack of distinctiveness.
Although it is not necessary to use the trademark for it to register, it must be used within a period of 5 years since the last use, otherwise it will become vulnerable to cancellation for non-use. The amount of use in France must be on a commercial scale.
A trademark is registered for an initial period of 10 years starting from the date of filing of the application, after which it can be renewed for periods of 10 years. The renewal request can be filed starting 6 months before the expiration date, and until 6 months after the expiration date. In case the renewal is filed after the expiration date, extra costs will apply.
France is a member state to the Madrid Protocol. Thus, the extension of an international registration of a trademark via the Madrid System is possible for this country. We offer services for trademark filing through the Madrid System.
France recognizes three-dimensional (3D) trademarks, allowing businesses to protect distinctive product shapes or packaging through the Institut National de la Propriété Industrielle (INPI). Key considerations for 3D trademark registration in France include distinctiveness, where the shape must be capable of distinguishing the goods or services from those of other undertakings. The shape cannot result exclusively from the nature of the goods, be necessary to obtain a technical result, or give substantial value to the goods. Applications must include clear graphical representations from multiple angles. In cases where the shape lacks inherent distinctiveness, evidence of acquired distinctiveness through use in the French market may be required.
