How long does it take to register a trademark in France?

A French trademark is registered within approximately 5 months by INPI, provided there is no objection or opposition. An EU trademark takes approximately 4 months at EUIPO.

How much does it cost to file a trademark in France?

The official INPI fee for a French trademark is €190 for one class, plus €40 for each additional class. For an EU trademark at EUIPO, the fee is €850 for one class, €900 for two classes, and €1,050 for three classes.

How long is a trademark valid in France?

A trademark is valid for 10 years from the filing date and must be renewed every 10 years to maintain protection.

TRADEMARK FILING IN FRANCE AND THE EU | FRENCH TRADEMARK ATTORNEY

Q: Can I add goods or services to an existing trademark?

No, it is not possible to add goods or services to a trademark that has already been filed. A new trademark filing is required to cover additional goods and services.

Trademark filing by an attorney allows you to obtain a trademark registration quickly from INPI or EUIPO.

An attorney can file a French trademark or an EU trademark.

The timeframe for obtaining a trademark registration at INPI is 5 months, provided there is no objection from the French Patent and Trademark Office nor any trademark opposition filed by third parties. INPI objections and oppositions delay the issuance of the trademark registration certificate.

YOUR TRADEMARK FILING DESERVES A LAW FIRM SPECIALIZED IN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

The trademark attorneys at GOMIS & LACKER can assist you with your trademark filing at INPI or EUIPO, or with filing trademarks in countries other than France or the European Union.

HOW TO DETERMINE THE ACTIVITIES PROTECTED BY A TRADEMARK FILING?

A trademark filing is valid for 10 years from the filing date. It is therefore essential to consider both current and future business activities, as well as other factors related to the commercial aspects of the activity you wish to protect. Through a dialogue with a trademark attorney, you can more clearly determine your needs in terms of trademark protection.

It is important that the trademark registration obtained covers the goods and services that are currently used and will be used in the future. It is not possible to add goods or services to a trademark that has already been filed. A new trademark filing is required to add goods and services.

BEFORE FILING: THE PRIOR RIGHTS SEARCH

Once the business sectors in which the trademark could be filed have been determined, a prior rights search (clearance search) must be conducted to determine whether all these sectors are available.

The prior rights search has both a practical and a legal aspect. The name must be available for use. This availability is assessed both from a practical standpoint—meaning the domain name is available and social media handles are available—and from a legal standpoint, meaning there is no trademark application or registration that is identical or similar and covers identical or similar goods or services, or other prior rights that could be asserted.

The objective of the prior rights search is to determine the scope of third-party rights that could be opposed and to take these rights into account when determining the scope of protection to be claimed in the trademark application form. The trademark application will be drafted taking these parameters into account, both for the choice of the sign and for the choice of goods and services.

WHICH SIGN TO CHOOSE FOR THE BEST TRADEMARK FILING?

A trademark attorney advises you on choosing the sign to be filed as a trademark. The chosen sign can be a word mark, meaning a trademark in standard characters without any logo or particular font or calligraphy.

It can also be a trademark including a logo—this is a figurative mark filing. If the trademark contains both a logo and a word element, it is a semi-figurative mark filing.

It is possible to file multiple trademarks at the same time for different signs.

HOW TO CHOOSE THE GOODS AND SERVICES COVERED BY THE TRADEMARK FILING?

The criteria to consider when choosing goods and services for a trademark filing are as follows:

The goods and services must be sufficiently precise. Otherwise, they may be rejected by INPI.
The goods and services must be listed in one of the 45 classes of the Nice International Classification.
The trademark specification must be broad enough to protect the applicant’s current and future activities.
Third-party rights must be considered to avoid unnecessarily triggering disputes by filing a trademark that covers more goods than necessary.
Finally, the cost of trademark filing must be considered.

TRADEMARK FILING FEES: INPI VS. EUIPO

Office	Coverage	Base Fee	Additional Classes	Registration Time
INPI (France)	France only	€190 (1 class)	€40 per class	~5 months
EUIPO (European Union)	27 EU countries	€850 (1 class) / €900 (2 classes) / €1,050 (3 classes)	€150 per class	~4 months

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE ATTORNEY IN TRADEMARK FILING?

The trademark attorney plays an advisory role to avoid errors during trademark filing. French attorneys do not require a power of attorney to file a trademark. The attorney can represent the client throughout the entire procedure before INPI and EUIPO. The intellectual property attorney’s knowledge of trademark law—both in its administrative and litigation aspects—enables them to understand the risks associated with a trademark filing.

WHAT IS THE TIMEFRAME FOR OBTAINING A TRADEMARK?

A French trademark is registered within 5 months by INPI. An EU trademark is registered within 4 months by EUIPO.

These timeframes are calculated from the trademark filing date and represent standard processing times when there is no objection or opposition from prior rights holders. A trademark is valid for 10 years from its filing date and must therefore be renewed every 10 years.

WHAT ARE THE ATTORNEY’S FEES FOR TRADEMARK FILING?

The trademark attorney’s fees for trademark filing are fixed and depend on the number of classes and the number of trademarks to be filed.

The GOMIS & LACKER law firm offers free quotes including a fixed fee for the trademark filing service.