France Publishes Decree Simplifying the Intellectual Property Code

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French IP Procedural Reform

A decree modernizing and simplifying intellectual property procedures entered in force on 2 July 2026.

The key measures are summarized below.

1. Dematerialization of Notifications

All paper-format notifications are abolished. Notifications will now be sent exclusively in electronic form.

An email will be sent to the recipient indicating that a notification is available in their personal space on the INPI’s e-procedures portal. Where no email address is on file, the French IP Code still provides for publication of a notice in the Bulletin officiel de la propriété industrielle (BOPI). Users who wish notifications to be sent to an address different from the one used to log into their account should add a correspondence address in each relevant application (trademarks, patents, designs).

2. Fee Reimbursement Regime

All reimbursements previously provided for under the IP Code are abolished, except for the search report fee where preparation of the report has not yet begun. As a result, in cases of inadmissibility, closure of a patent limitation proceeding following an opposition, absence of translation upon conversion of a European patent, or failure to forward an international patent extension request to the World Intellectual Property Organization, fees already paid will no longer be reimbursed. This measure applies to all applications filed on or after 2 July 2026.

3. Alignment of the SME Fee-Reduction Criterion with the EU Definition

The employee threshold for qualifying for the SME fee reduction on patent fees is lowered to 250 employees, in line with the European definition of small and medium-sized enterprises, down from 1,000 previously. The new threshold applies to patent applications filed on or after 2 July 2026. In addition, the reduction request must now be made at the time of filing rather than within one month following filing, and no longer requires a supporting certificate to be attached.

4. Protection of Personal Data

To ensure compliance with requirements of the CNIL (France’s data protection authority) regarding personal data protection, the home addresses of individual filers of industrial property titles will no longer be published or disclosed in the registers or in the BOPI. They will accordingly no longer appear on the DATA INPI website.

5. Other Simplification and Harmonization Measures

Several additional measures have been adopted to facilitate filings and case processing:

  • The decision period for trademark oppositions and cancellations is aligned with patent oppositions, increasing from 3 to 4 months, with immediate effect, including for matters already pending as of 2 July 2026.
  • Trademark oppositions may now be regularized in cases of inadmissibility, which was not previously possible.
  • Employee invention called Enveloppes Soleau are eliminated.
  • Applicants claiming internal priority no longer need to provide a copy of the earlier filing, as the INPI already has access to these documents.
  • The third-party observation period for utility certificates is set at three months after publication, aligning it with patents.
  • Proposed patent amendments may now be submitted during opposition proceedings up until the end of the oral phase, subject to adversarial debate.
  • Patent abstracts may now be drafted by the INPI itself, rather than merely reformatted, avoiding back-and-forth exchanges with applicants.
  • Printing of patent specifications (fascicules) is discontinued.

These measures are intended to streamline procedures in the interest of businesses.