On June 30, 2026, the French Ministry of Economy, Finance, and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty issued Decree No. 2026-576, introducing substantial amendments to Books IV to VIII of the French Intellectual Property Code and related provisions of the Commercial Code. Published in the Official Journal on July 1, the decree took effect on July 2, 2026, with most provisions applying to proceedings already pending as of that date.
This reform spans patents, trademarks, and designs, with a core focus on digitalizing procedures, strengthening personal data protection, harmonizing time limits, and streamlining administrative formalities.
1. Full Digitalization of Notification Methods
The most significant change is the abolition of paper-based notifications via registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt. Going forward, all communications from the French National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) will be sent exclusively by electronic means. Recipients will receive an email notification inviting them to access the INPI's secure online portal to view the full content of the communication.
For those without a registered email address, the Code still provides for publication in the Official Bulletin of Industrial Property as an alternative, consistent with previous practices for undeliverable postal addresses. Users wishing to receive notifications at an address different from their account login email must update their contact information in the respective trademark, patent, or design application modules.
2. Significant Tightening of Fee Reimbursement Rules
The decree abolishes most previously available grounds for fee reimbursement, retaining only a single exception: the search report fee for patents may be refunded if the procedure for preparing the search report has not yet commenced.
This means that fees will no longer be reimbursed in cases of inadmissibility, termination of limitation proceedings due to opposition, lack of translation in European patent conversions, or failure to forward international extension applications to WIPO. Importantly, these new reimbursement rules apply only to applications filed on or after July 2, 2026, and do not affect cases already pending.
3. SME Criteria Aligned with EU Definition
To harmonize French patent fee reduction policies with EU standards, the decree lowers the employee threshold for eligible enterprises from 1,000 to 250 employees. Additionally, applicants must declare their category (SME or non-profit entity) at the time of filing, rather than within a one-month post-filing period.
This adjustment likewise applies exclusively to patent applications filed on or after July 2, 2026.
4. Enhanced Personal Data Protection
In compliance with the requirements of the French Data Protection Authority (CNIL), the decree mandates that for individual applicants (natural persons), full residential addresses will no longer appear in the register or the Official Bulletin of Industrial Property, nor will they be disseminated on the DATA INPI website.
The publicly available information is now strictly limited to surname, given name, city, and country of residence, aligning with the rules applicable to the National Register of Enterprises (RNE). This measure mitigates the risk of excessive disclosure of personal data.
5. Additional Procedural Simplifications
Beyond the key changes above, the decree introduces a series of targeted measures to facilitate filing and case processing:
· Unified time limits for opposition and revocation decisions: The decision period for trademark opposition and revocation proceedings is extended from 3 to 4 months, aligning with patent opposition procedures. This change applies immediately to cases already pending on July 2, 2026.
· Admissibility of incomplete trademark oppositions: Oppositions previously rejected outright for formal deficiencies may now be regularized, enhancing procedural fairness.
· Abolition of the employee invention declaration envelope: The requirement for physical paper envelopes for employee invention declarations is eliminated, reducing administrative burdens on businesses.
· Simplified priority document requirements: For internal priority claims, applicants are no longer required to submit copies of earlier applications, as the INPI can access these internally.
· Unified third-party observation period for utility models: The deadline for third-party observations is harmonized to three months from publication, consistent with patents.
· Amendments in patent opposition proceedings: Proposed amendments to patents may be submitted before the close of oral proceedings, subject to adversarial debate between the parties.
· INPI may draft patent abstracts: The INPI may now draft abstracts directly, reducing back-and-forth exchanges arising from formatting issues.
· Elimination of printed patent specifications: The requirement for physical printing of patent specifications is abolished, reflecting the shift to full electronic publication.
6. Applicability and Transitional Provisions
The decree took effect on July 2, 2026. Most provisions have retroactive effect, meaning they apply to proceedings already pending at that date. However, two groups of provisions apply only to requests filed after the effective date:
· Article 11 (declaration submissions and additional fees);
· Articles 32 to 36 (fee reimbursements).
Overall Impact
This reform represents a significant step forward for French industrial property procedures in three key dimensions: digital transformation, regulatory compliance in data protection, and administrative efficiency. According to the INPI, the new measures will simplify business processes, improve examination throughput, and strike a better balance between public transparency and the protection of individual rights.
Sources:French National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI)
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