Trademarks, names and ideas: answers to the most frequently asked questions

€190 for one class of goods or services, then €40 per additional class (INPI fee schedule as of 2 July 2026). Payment is made on filing. See Filing a trademark with the INPI.

Any natural or legal person: an individual, a company, an association. You do not need to have set up your company. A representative is only required if there are several applicants or if the applicant does not reside in the European Union or the European Economic Area.

10 years from the filing date, renewable indefinitely (article L712-1 of the French Intellectual Property Code). Renewal costs €290 for one class, plus €40 per additional class.

A 6-month grace period after expiry still allows renewal, with a 50% surcharge. Renewal is possible from the year before the expiry date, and the INPI sends an e-mail reminder one year beforehand.

No, but the INPI recommends it. A Trademark can be registered and then challenged by the holder of a prior right: checking before filing avoids losing your application. See How to check whether a name is available.

The INPI sets four conditions: the Trademark must be distinctive (neither generic nor purely descriptive), lawful, not deceptive (it must not mislead as to quality or origin) and available.

The Nice classification sorts goods and services into 45 classes: 34 for goods and 11 for services. The edition in force is 13-2026, since 1 January 2026. A Trademark is only protected for the goods and services designated. See The Nice classes.

No, only in France. A European Union Trademark (EUIPO) covers the whole Union with a single title, from €850 for one class. WIPO's Madrid system lets you target other countries. See French, European or international trademark.

Yes. The Paris Convention gives you 6 months from the first filing to extend protection to other countries while keeping the date of that first filing.

Often yes, because a Trademark is protected for specific goods and services. The risk arises when the signs are similar and the activities are identical or similar. See A similar trademark already exists.

By filing an opposition with the INPI within 2 months of the publication of the application, with no extension possible. It costs €400 for one right invoked. For a European Union Trademark, the deadline is 3 months.

Yes, through a revocation request, if it has not been genuinely used for five years without good reason (article L714-5). The request costs €600 before the INPI.

The company becomes the owner of its company name on registration, but it is not a Trademark. Reusing a company name is not infringement, but it can be penalised as unfair competition. See Company name, trade name, shop sign and trademark.

In the free DATA INPI database, which lists the company names, trade names and shop signs entered in the National Business Register, and in the business directory. Trademarks and domain names must be checked as well. See Choosing your business name.

No. Registering a domain name alone does not confer any intellectual property protection. It is recommended to also file the name as a Trademark. See Choosing and registering your domain name.

For a .fr, Afnic's SYRELI (€250 excl. VAT) and PARL EXPERT (€1,500) procedures can obtain the transfer or deletion in about 2 months. For a .com, it is WIPO's UDRP procedure, from USD 1,500.

No, not as such. According to the INPI, copyright does not protect ideas or concepts, but their concrete expression. The Name, logo, texts, design or a technical invention can, however, be protected. See Can you protect an idea?.

To prove that a creation existed on a given date. It costs €15 for up to 50 MB, for 5 years, extendable up to 20 years. It is not a property title: it grants neither a monopoly nor legal protection.

No. Copyright arises from the mere act of creation, without formalities, provided the work is original. It lasts for the author's whole life and 70 years after their death. Keeping dated proof remains useful in case of a dispute.

20 years at most, provided the annual fees are paid. The invention must be new, inventive and capable of industrial application. It must not be disclosed before filing.

On the one-stop shop formalites.entreprises.gouv.fr, run by the INPI, mandatory since 1 January 2023 for all business forms. See Starting a business: the formalities.

For a commercial company: €53.16 for registration (including the declaration of beneficial owners), plus the legal notice, for example €148 excl. VAT for a SARL or €199 excl. VAT for a SAS in mainland France. A micro-enterprise is free in most cases.