Innovation at the French IP office: spotlight on trademark tools and services

In a major update, Pascal Faure, CEO of the French National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), reveals the innovative tools and services that the office has in place – and those it is developing for the future.

For the past six years, WTR has ranked the world's leading 50 IP offices by the non-core tools and services that they offer. In that time, INPI has consistently ranked highly. The French agency came eighth in this year’s ranking, up from 14th in 2021.

Today, CEO Faure outlines some of the initiatives that have contributed to this score.

Innovation insights from INPI:

IT and digital tools

Has INPI made any significant changes to its website to improve functionality and user experience in the past 12 months?

It has been a busy year for INPI and its websites.

In January 2023, INPI opened its one-stop shop so that all business formalities could be completed online. This made it the preferred point of contact for millions of French people who were looking to start, change or strike off a business. This new service has been integrated into our online procedures website (e-procedures portal) and simplifies business management. Then, when they log onto the INPI website to complete their application, users are informed of how important it is to register a trademark.

This feature has also helped improve the chatbot, the ergonomics of the interfaces and the customer experience by means of a support form, and it has helped to create specific FAQs on the inpi.fr site to provide users with any assistance they may need.

In addition, INPI is continuing to work on simplifying access to information by adding decisions on trademarks and geographical indications to its DATA INPI (data.inpi.fr) website. This makes the data.inpi.fr website the main entry point to INPI's various free-access databases.

With almost 6 million visitors a year, inpi.fr is an ongoing project and provides:

detailed support content for the use of the one-stop shop for business formalities and to take advantage of the synergy between business formalities and intellectual property;
improved statistics concerning the use of the site to help us gain a better understanding of user behaviour; and
the addition of tracking and feedback tools to collect users' opinions.

The inpi.fr website is also undergoing a full overhaul and will have a new look by the end of 2024. The redesign is to:

improve the user experience;
make access to information more intuitive and efficient; and
modernise the ergonomics and visual interface of the website.

The aim is to create an easy-to-use, modern website adapted to the specific needs of INPI's different target audiences. The redesign also seeks to strengthen INPI's position as a major player in the protection of industrial property and innovation in France.

As a result, the inpi.fr website will be compliant with the highest level of the RGAA standard (improvement of digital accessibility) and eco-design requirements.

Does INPI offer the option for filing trademarks online?

INPI offers the option for filing trademarks online, completing all procedures concerning the life of a trademark and carrying out procedural exchanges with the office (renewals, registrations, opposition proceedings, invalidity and revocation proceedings). This makes trademarks 100% electronic. The entire platform (front and back office) was modernised in 2023. There is a single trademark repository that provides all trademark-related data in real time.

Since 10 November 2023, the Official Industrial Property Gazette (BOPI), which contains INPI decisions on trademark registrations, rejections, renewals and registrations, has been given a 100% electronic format and can be accessed on the DATA INPI site. This service has a wide range of features, including targeted searches.

Besides the digital BOPI, there is also a system of electronic notifications and, today, all transmissions sent to INPI by applicants and all those sent to applicants by legal examiners are in electronic format. More specifically, when INPI issues a notification, the trademark applicant or the parties to trademark opposition or invalidity/revocation proceedings are notified by e-mail and can read the notification in their personal area on INPI's online procedures portal.

Does INPI have a searchable database of trademark applications/registrations on its own web platform?

Since 2009, INPI has offered a free online database service with:

trademarks in force in France (French, EU and international);
French trademarks not in force; and
images of logos or sound or video files associated with sound, multimedia or motion marks.

This database can be accessed from the DATA INPI website, which was launched as our data portal in 2019 and offers a simple, free and fast multi-database search of companies, trademarks, designs and patents.

French trademarks can also be accessed on the EUIPO's TMView search service and WIPO's worldwide trademark database. They can also be found on various commercial servers that use French trademark data made available by INPI as part of open data.

Besides filing and searching for trademarks, are there any other services that can be used and completed on the INPI web platform?

INPI's digital strategy is based on three main websites, all of which are defined by users' specific needs.

The inpi.fr website is the central access point for INPI services and is being redesigned, as I have pointed out. Its aim is to help users find information and point them to the right place according to what they are looking for.
The procedure.inpi.fr website is the place to go for all INPI online procedures. From this site, users can complete all the formalities associated with IP procedures (filing of trademarks, patents, designs, geographical indications and all other processes). Furthermore, since 2023, users can complete all business formalities (starting, changing or striking off a business or filing accounts).
The data.inpi.fr website is the data search site for all of INPI's public databases (eg, companies, trademarks, patents, designs and BOPI).

Does the office have an API so that third-party software providers can access trademark application/registration data?

The use of APIs encourages the exchange and supply of quality data and its use. INPI has had an API on its DATA INPI website for displaying data on French trademarks in force or those not filed with INPI since 1976.

To date, INPI has not developed an API for third-party software to file or renew trademarks.

Has INPI introduced online services using AI?

INPI has a LAB that is studying projects to include AI-based services in our back offices to improve the service provided to innovators and owners of industrial property rights by optimising patent, trademark and design procedures.

At present, INPI is working on a programme to index old trademark files (1857-1920), which uses AI to optimise online searches for said trademarks.

Value-added proposals

Does INPI offer mediation services for trademark disputes?

INPI does not have its own mediation service; however, it is aware of the benefits that such a procedure would provide. This is why, in 2015, INPI signed an agreement with the Business Ombudsman, a government department that offers mediation services to businesses on a good number of issues. With this agreement, INPI has added industrial property to issues that may involve mediation under this system. This is the case with trademarks, since in the event of a dispute before INPI (eg, a trademark opposition procedure), the office informs the parties that, if they are in agreement, they have the option of a mediation procedure.

Does INPI organise information sessions/workshops on legal advice concerning intellectual property for SMEs?

Under the Intellectual Property Code, INPI is responsible for training economic players and raising their awareness of IP issues. To complement the training offered by the INPI Academy, we have developed the INPI Coaching service.

This range of services is available across France and is provided by INPI experts in every region of the country. It seeks to initiate, activate and improve the IP strategy of our businesses.

In practice, it is a very comprehensive range of services and can be used to help companies that are new to industrial property, especially SMEs. The services also help more consolidated companies include industrial property in their long-term strategies. The service is provided one-to-one, with almost 7,000 companies receiving individual support from our experts every year in the form of meetings and company visits. More collective approaches in the form of conferences and workshops also help to raise the awareness of over 15,000 people each year. These collective approaches can be seen in our policy of active participation at trade fairs and events focused on business creation, innovation and support for start-ups.

As part of INPI's plan to increase its awareness-raising and support activities, we have developed a partnership strategy with national and regional players. Targeting companies that have strong growth potential and a proven need for support is key for these partnerships.

Accordingly, we focus on three pillars:

proximity;
support services; and
partnerships.

Does INPI work with regulatory and supervisory bodies or does it provide companies/law firms with direct assistance in the fight against counterfeiting?

INPI indeed works with regulatory and supervisory bodies. In particular, we serve as general secretariat of the National Anti-counterfeiting Committee (CNAC) as part of a public-private partnership focused on strengthening the exchange of information and best practices, coordinating specific actions and making new proposals. Created in 1995, it brings together industry federations, trade associations, companies and government departments involved in the fight against counterfeiting.

Furthermore, at the end of 2022, INPI launched the France Anti-counterfeiting Initiative to gain a better understanding of the issues facing all those involved (rights holders, law enforcement agencies and practitioners) and ensure the use of the right resources and strategies in the fight against counterfeiting in France. The initiative brings together players from business, academia and law and focuses on:

bringing together and listening to all players to get the fullest possible picture of the situation in France;
using existing data and collecting information to typify the nature and impact of counterfeiting in France; and
proposing the creation of new tools to stop counterfeiting.

The first works were presented at the CNAC's General Meeting at the end of 2023; they took the form of a study on French SMEs and counterfeiting, and included a survey on French consumers and counterfeiting.

INPI is also fighting counterfeiting upstream by encouraging companies to protect their assets as effectively as possible. Our national and international networks propose both individual and collective actions for companies. Counterfeiting appears as an increasingly frequent problem in interviews with companies.

Our international network is particularly active in this area, with a network of INPI advisers in around 100 countries helping businesses in the fight against counterfeiting. Our work in this area focuses on showing companies that a proactive attitude is their best option for enforcing their rights.

Our information platform also replies to calls and emails concerning counterfeiting.

The INPI Academy also provides continuing professional training for large enterprises, SMEs, research and higher education institutions and IP professionals, and that training includes a specific module on "counterfeiting".

Raising public awareness

Does INPI organise trademark education/awareness events for the general public?

Nearly 100,000 trademark applications are filed in France each year; some of them are filed by first-time applicants who need to know what to do, how to do it and why.

As our missions have been extended to include business formalities, we launched a free mobile learning application for entrepreneurs called START INPI at the end of 2023. The application provides them with all the information they need to complete the procedures involved in starting, changing or striking off a business, and integrate intellectual property into their business strategies. We provide them with guidance on their company's specific IP needs and explain the options available: protection for trademarks and designs, patent filing, and the fight against counterfeiting.

INPI has also received support from higher education establishments and universities to help focus its awareness-raising on students and include training on intellectual property in engineering curricula (eg, through the distribution of a dedicated MOOC).

As a complement to the trademark training courses offered by the INPI Academy, INPI holds webinars to raise awareness among the general public. Once a month, we invite users to meetings and discuss current IP issues from a business standpoint. With over 11,000 subscribers, our webinar channel reaches out to a large audience across France, eliminating the need to travel and offering the possibility of replaying the webinar. They usually stand as a general starting point for our support service; our facilitators then contact participants who wish to pursue questions about IP matters further.

Companies of all sizes take part in the webinars.

Once a year, we organise a morning on IP strategy. The project receives over 600 attendees and in 2024 it is focusing on the strategy for commercialising industrial property assets, taking the example of the sports industry in the context of the Paris Olympics. Webinars on trademarks are always highly successful. This year, we have varied our programme even more by focusing on IP practices in emerging technologies (eg, the metaverse and intellectual property). Our webinars are a great success. They usually attract several hundred attendees, and they attain an average satisfaction score of 90%.

Does INPI use social media to raise awareness of intellectual property?

INPI has accounts on X, Facebook and LinkedIn.

We use them for:

forwarding and distributing, through:
- "on-the-spot" content concerning our current events and actions, such as:
  - information about our participation in events;
  - highlighting our bilateral international relations;
  - promoting geographical indications;
  - improving and maintaining our online services;
  - our work with European and regional players (EUIPO, EPO); and
  - and relaying the fight against counterfeiting;
- making institutional statements; and
- content that educates people about intellectual property and promotes INPI's support services;
developing and managing our communities, by:
- replying to requests received in private messages or in the comments thread by:
  - monitoring customer relations; and
  - moderating comments through instructive replies and, where appropriate, deleting messages; and
- boosting our relations with partners in the field to make them visible and extend the impact of our publications; and
monitoring the sector and beyond to collect information that can be used for INPI's communication channels and for curation work by:
- detecting and identifying leaders and forwarders for the subjects we inform about; and
- identifying areas of satisfaction and dissatisfaction.

Does INPI carry out and publish research/studies on intellectual property and/or trademarks?

A unit was created in 2023 to carry out statistical and economic studies using data from French and international IP procedures. Each year, this unit draws up the rankings published by INPI, together with sector indicators and analyses. It also collaborates with French academic and governmental institutions and works with other national and foreign IP offices.

In the run-up to this summer's major sporting events (eg, the Olympics and the Tour de France), a forthcoming study is due to examine the role of intellectual property in sports and mechanical bicycles. It looks at the use of patents, trademarks and designs in sport.

This work will help to raise public awareness of the role and challenges of intellectual property and shed light on competition and practices in terms of protecting and commercialising innovations.

Does INPI take part in non-IP events to raise awareness of intellectual property among non-legal audiences?

INPI works to make the general public aware of intellectual property and takes part in general and sectoral trade fairs.

Since January 2023 and the opening of INPI's one-stop shop for business formalities, we have increased our participation in trade fairs on business creation and development. This France-wide presence at national (eg, Go Entrepreneurs Paris and Lyon, the Chartered Accountants Congress, and Be a Boss) and regional trade fairs is an opportunity for us to support entrepreneurs as they learn to use the one-stop shop and to raise their awareness of IP issues, "From business formalities to IP", through workshops, conferences, visual displays on stands and documentation.

Since it was created, we have also taken part in Viva Technology, Europe's biggest event for technological innovation and start-ups. Every year, start-ups supported by INPI are present on our stand throughout the show, demonstrating the benefits of the help we provide. Workshops on our stand show trade visitors and the general public how to protect creations against counterfeiting, and how to protect innovations through patents, as well as the impact of – and outlook for – generative AI in intellectual property, among other things.

We also support national research events, such as the Rendez-vous Carnot (the Carnot network brings together public research organisations certified by the Ministry of Research that are firmly committed to carrying out and developing partnership research for the benefit of business innovation) and the CURIE Congress (the CURIE network brings together public research commercialisation professionals) with a stand, conferences and workshops.

Thanks to its long-standing partnerships, INPI participates in numerous events in France and internationally with Business France (eg, the CES in Las Vegas).

In addition to INPI's participation in these trade fairs and its partnerships with innovation players, we have also organised our own annual event since 1991: the INPI Awards, which reward innovative companies that have made use of industrial property as part of their general strategy.

Does INPI work with other national IP offices to develop innovative tools/services?

INPI's activities extend far beyond national borders. Indeed, INPI helps develop industrial property law in accordance with international treaties and European legislation. Like its colleagues, INPI represents France on various European and international bodies.

INPI also has an international network of industrial property counsellors based in the regional economic services of French embassies, which puts it in a position to promote cooperation and knowledge sharing. For example, we have approximately 70 active agreements signed with our counterparts around the world.

We hold regular talks with other IP offices in Europe and elsewhere to share information and experiences about innovative tools and services.

For example, INPI is leading a workshop on AI in conjunction with several European offices. The main aim is to share knowledge, compare experiences and examine current projects concerning the use of AI to develop innovative solutions. A related goal is to join forces on AI projects in which we have common interests.

INPI's success in implementing the latest legislative changes in the industrial property field has also strengthened international recognition of the quality of its procedures, allowing us to conclude a number of Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) agreements in recent years. The object of these agreements is to speed up mutual recognition of the examination carried out before grant with our foreign colleagues.

From 2020 to present day, INPI has signed nine such agreements. The first PPH agreement was with the Japan Patent Office, and others have since been concluded with the United States, Canada, Brazil, South Korea, China, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Mexico.

These PPH agreements stand as major advances for companies, as they are then able to quickly remove uncertainty about the granting of their patents and negotiate with their partners or financiers on the foreign market with more confidence.

In order to provide national offices with innovative business-support tools and services, INPI also cooperates in specific actions with many foreign offices, such as the African Intellectual Property Organisation and the Moroccan Office of Industrial and Commercial Property. We must also mention the licence signed with the Chilean National Institute of Industrial Property (INAPI) for one of INPI's flagship business support tools – the IP Master Class – in 2023.

Collaboration with foreign offices also seeks to improve training and awareness of IP issues. In recent years, INPI has developed MOOCs with a dynamic, modern, electronic format to introduce the general public to the world of intellectual property, and is now sharing its experience in setting up these online courses with its colleagues.

INPI is also recognised internationally for its expertise in industrial and craft geographical indications, and a number of successful cooperative ventures based on exchanges of experience are organised on a regular basis. These include the Regional Forum that INPI held in Riyadh in November 2023 in association with the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property, which involved more than 10 countries from the League of Arab States.

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