Patent offices are administrative bodies responsible for registering proceedings relating to industrial and intellectual property rights.
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) lists all the offices. Each country has its own office, responsible for registering applications and issuing IP titles on their respective territories.
| Country | → | Office |
|---|---|---|
| France | → | INPI |
| United States | → | USPTO |
| China | → | CNIPA |
| Switzerland | → | IGE IPI |
| Europe | → | EPO |
To find out about other offices, consult the reference directory on the WIPO website.
In France: INPI
The Institut National de la Propriété Industrielle was founded in 1951. But before that, there were already procedures in place to protect inventions.
The INPI has replaced the ONPI: Office National de la Propriété Industrielle. Founded in 1900, the latter was responsible for registering trademarks and patents.
INPI is headquartered in Courbevoie in the Île-de-France region.
In Europe: EPO
Since 1977, the European Patent Office has enabled inventors to protect their inventions throughout the European Union, as well as in 12 other countries:
- Albania
- Switzerland
- Liechtenstein
- Norway
- Turkey
- Monaco
- Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
- San Marino
The EPO is an intergovernmental organization based in Munich, Germany. The European patent enables a single procedure to be carried out for protection against counterfeiting in all countries where the patent is validated.
Read: PCT France: a new way to protect your invention in several countries, including France
How to obtain a patent outside France?
To obtain your patent abroad, an application must be made for each territory concerned. Instead, for reasons of cost and procedural simplicity, your IPC may suggest that you use the PCT international application procedure.
The PCT international application can be filed with the INPI, the EPO or the International Patent Office, according to the Patent Cooperation Treaty.
Applying for an international patent is a 2-step process:
- Filing of PCT application to begin filing and prior art search formalities.
- Phase entries, national or regional, corresponding to a choice of countries (US, CN, JP, etc.) or regions (EPO, etc.) in which you wish to begin examination of your application, and thus potentially obtain a granted patent, and thus be protected against infringers.
⚠️ While the PCT is a time-saving, centralized filing procedure, only regional or national offices can grant you a patent.
