Filing a trademark with the INPI: steps, cost and timescales

Who can file a trademark?

Any individual or legal entity can file a Trademark: a private individual, a company, an association. You do not need to have already set up your company.

Using a representative (industrial property attorney, lawyer) is optional. It becomes mandatory when there are several applicants, or when the applicant resides outside the European Union and the European Economic Area.

What to check before filing

The INPI registers a Trademark if it meets four conditions. It must be:

• distinctive: neither generic nor purely descriptive of the goods or services covered. An everyday word is still possible if it has no link with the activity (the example given by the INPI: “Boulanger” for household appliances);
• lawful: no offensive or discriminatory terms, no official emblems;
• not deceptive: it must not mislead as to the nature, quality or origin of the goods;
• available: it must not reproduce an earlier right, such as an identical or similar Trademark for comparable goods or services, or a company name.

The key point: the INPI does not check availability for you. A Trademark can be registered and then challenged by the owner of an earlier right. A prior-rights search is not mandatory, but the INPI recommends it.

The filing steps

1. Prepare: choose the sign (word, logo…), list the goods and services and classify them according to the Nice classes, check availability.
2. File online on the INPI portal and pay the fees.
3. Publication of the application in the Bulletin officiel de la propriété industrielle (BOPI), around 6 weeks after filing according to the INPI.
4. Examination of the application by the INPI (formalities and grounds for refusal).
5. Opposition period: for 2 months after publication, the owner of an earlier right can file an opposition.
6. Registration: publication of the registration in the BOPI, no earlier than 5 months after filing, followed by the certificate being sent.

If there is no opposition, the INPI indicates a total timescale of around 7 to 8 months. These timescales are indicative.

How much it costs

Procedure	INPI fee (as of 2 July 2026)
Filing for one class	€190
Each additional class	€40
Renewal for one class	€290
Renewal, each additional class	€40
Late renewal (grace period)	+ 50% of the fee
Opposition to a trademark	€400, then €150 per additional right

These amounts are the office's fees. Professional assistance comes on top where applicable.

How long protection lasts

The Trademark is protected for ten years from the filing date, and this period can be renewed indefinitely (Article L712-1 of the French Intellectual Property Code). Renewal is requested during the year preceding the expiry date; the INPI sends an email reminder. After expiry, a 6-month grace period still allows renewal, with a surcharge.

Protection is limited to the goods and services designated at filing, and to French territory. For the European Union or other countries, other filings exist.

Common mistakes

• Filing without having checked similar Trademarks, including those spelt or pronounced almost the same.
• Choosing classes that are too narrow (future activity is not covered) or too broad (a Trademark not used for 5 years for certain goods can be challenged for those goods).
• Choosing a name that is purely descriptive of the activity: it may be refused, or hard to defend.
• Forgetting other earlier rights: company names, trade names, domain names.