French Intellectual Property Code

The Institut national de la propriété industrielle shall in particular be responsible for: 1° The examination of patent applications, the grant of patents and all documents relating thereto, and the examination of oppositions; 1° bis. The granting, on the advice of the Minister for Defence, of authorisations for the disclosure and free working of patents for invention referred to in Article L. 612-9, as well as, at the request of…

The publication of decisions, acts and documents provided for in the Official Bulletin of Industrial Property distributed in electronic form, under conditions such as to guarantee its authenticity, produces the same legal effects as their publication in printed form.

The National Institute of Industrial Property organises free public consultation of industrial property titles and the Official Bulletin of Industrial Property. The terms, places and conditions of this consultation are laid down by decision of the Director General of the National Institute of Industrial Property.

The public information of the Institut national de la propriété industrielle relating to industrial property titles and the national register of companies may be made available to the public on request, by electronic means or on a computer medium, for re-use. The re-use of all or part of this public information is subject to the applicant’s acceptance of a licence including an undertaking not to make any use of the…

The Institut national de la propriété industrielle organises free public access in electronic format to: 1° The list of geographical indications defined in Article L. 721-2, accompanied by the date and reference of publication in the Bulletin officiel de la propriété industrielle of the decisions to approve the specifications and, where applicable, the decision to withdraw approval; 2° To specifications approved in accordance with article L. 721-3 ; 3° To…

The Director General of the Institut national de la propriété industrielle represents the institute in all civil acts. He has the institute’s staff under his command. He takes all measures useful for the running of the institute. He prepares and implements the budget. It draws up revenue vouchers. He commits, settles and authorises expenditure within the limits of the appropriations in the budget. He may delegate his signature, in particular…

The Board of Directors is made up of fourteen members: 1° A personality from the business world, chairman, appointed by order of the minister responsible for industrial property for a period of three years renewable once; 2° The director of civil affairs and the seal at the ministry of justice or his representative ; 3° The Director of the Budget at the Ministry of the Economy and Finance or his…

The Board of Directors defines the institution’s general policy within the framework of the guidelines laid down by the supervisory ministers. In particular, it has the following powers: 1° It approves the budget and its amendments, the financial account for the financial year ended and the allocation of the result and gives its opinion on the annual activity report; 2° It sets the guidelines for the pricing policy, the general…

The Board of Directors meets at least twice a year. It is convened by its Chairman on an agenda set by the Chairman. A quorum is reached if at least seven of its members are present or represented. When the quorum is not reached, the Board validly deliberates without a quorum condition after a new convocation on the same agenda and specifying that no quorum will be required. In the…