INPI

What INPI does

INPI is France's national industrial property institute, operating as a public administrative establishment (établissement public administratif) under the Ministry of Economy since 1951. It serves as the legally mandated authority for patents, trademarks, designs and models, and geographical indications, while also managing the Guichet unique des entreprises (unified business formalities portal) and the Registre national des entreprises (RNE). The institute's core customers are French entrepreneurs, startups, SMEs, IP attorneys (Conseils en propriété industrielle), and multinational firms seeking to register or defend IP rights in France.

INPI operates a portfolio of interconnected digital platforms built and maintained by external vendors (WeDoData, La Fabrique/Orange Business Services, Ecritel, Digital Ocean). The flagship platforms include procedures.inpi.fr for e-filing, data.inpi.fr for open data and the BOPI bulletin, base-jurisprudence.inpi.fr for IP case law, palmaresbrevets.inpi.fr for patent filer rankings, base-indications-geographiques.inpi.fr for GI registrations, and the interactive voyage-dans-les-indications-geographiques.inpi.fr. APIs and FTP bulk access are exposed via data.inpi.fr. A network of 160 regional experts provides free in-person support, complemented by the Académie INPI training platform and Start-INPI mobile application.

Revenue is generated primarily through regulatory filing and registration fees (patents, trademarks, designs, oppositions, renunciations) plus transaction-based fees for services such as e-Soleau (€15+) and document escrow (€100+). GTM is dual-channel: direct-to-consumer via regional permanences and digital portals, and event-driven via VivaTech presence and the OMPI/HEC co-organized Pitch Contest INPI. Programs like Pass PI, the Prédiagnostic PI, and the EU SME Fund (up to €7,320 reimbursement in 2026) channel subsidized support to SMEs. International extensions are routed through partnerships with WIPO, EUIPO, and EPO.

Name

INPI

Legal name

Institut National de la Propriété Industrielle

Website

https://inpi.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1951

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

INPI is France's national industrial property institute, a public establishment that registers patents, trademarks, designs, and geographical indications, and operates the Guichet unique business formalities portal and national business registry (RNE) for French entrepreneurs, SMEs, and IP professionals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Property Administration

NAICS

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

akta.pro primary industry

Patent Prosecution & Portfolio Management (BPAHAMAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

IP & Patent Information Publishing (Patent/Litigation Analytics, Prior Art) (MPAJACAK), Regulatory Operations & Publishing (eCTD, RIM, Submission Management) (HLAGAKAC), IP Due Diligence & Freedom-to-Operate (FTO) Analysis (BPAHAMAG)

Keywords

• Industrial property registration
• Patent filing services
• Trademark registration
• Intellectual property administration
• Business formalities portal

Headquarters

HQ city

Courbevoie

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. IP Filing and Registration Fees: INPI generates revenue primarily through official fees charged for intellectual property filings and renewals — including patent deposits, trademark registrations, design and model filings, and the Guichet unique business formalities. Fees vary by procedure type.
2. e-Soleau and Escrow Services: Revenue from the e-Soleau proof-of-creation service (deposits starting at €15 for up to 50MB) and document escrow/entiercement services (deposits starting at €100 for up to 50MB).
3. Trademark Opposition and Nullity Proceedings: Fees charged for trademark opposition proceedings (€400 base, +€150 per additional prior right) and renunciation/inscription procedures (€27 standard, +€52 for expedited processing).
4. Design and Model Filing Fees: Fees for depositing designs and models, including simplified deposit procedure at €39 for the deposit regardless of the number of models (up to 100 reproductions), with reproduction fees of €47 per color reproduction and €23 per black-and-white reproduction.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

INPI is France's official national institute for industrial property, mandated to register and administer patents, trademarks, designs and models, and geographical indications, and to manage the Guichet unique des entreprises business formalities portal and the Registre national des entreprises (RNE). It offers a digital-first end-to-end platform covering IP filings, oppositions, renewals, business formalities, open data access and historical archives, supported by a network of 160 regional experts and free SME pre-diagnostics.

Product overview

INPI (Institut National de la Propriété Industrielle) is France's national industrial property institute operating as a government agency under the Ministry of Economy. The organization provides a comprehensive digital platform ecosystem centered on intellectual property protection and business formalities. The core offerings include the Guichet unique (unified business formalities portal) for company registration and the e-procédures portal for filing IP titles (patents, trademarks, industrial designs). DATA INPI serves as the open data platform providing access to all IP databases. Supporting products include Académie INPI for training, the Jurisprudence Database for legal research, Palmarès des Brevets for patent rankings, and specialized tools like Prédiagnostic PI and the Start-up Programme for business support. INPI also maintains the Registre National des Entreprises (RNE) for business registration, the Portefeuille Soleau for creation dating, and regional presence through 160 experts across France. The organization collaborates internationally with WIPO, EUIPO, and EPO.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Guichet unique des entreprises Unified business formalities portal that simplifies company registration, modification, and closure procedures for French entrepreneurs and businesses, integrated into the national business registry (RNE).
• DATA INPI Open data platform providing public access to INPI's intellectual property databases including patents, trademarks, designs, geographical indications, jurisprudence, opposition decisions, BOPI bulletins and the Registre national des entreprises, with API and FTP access for bulk data.
• e-procédures Portal (procedures.inpi.fr) Online portal for filing intellectual property titles (patents, trademarks, designs) and business formalities, providing secure document submission, tracking, opposition filings, renewals and access to e-Soleau digital proof services.
• Base Indications Géographiques Database of protected geographical indications for French industrial and artisanal products, containing specifications, certified companies, and ongoing procedures.
• Jurisprudence Database (base-jurisprudence.inpi.fr) Comprehensive database of French judicial decisions in intellectual property (patents, trademarks, designs, geographical indications) and INPI Director General decisions since 1823, with full-text decisions from 1997 onward.
• Académie INPI Training and awareness platform offering intellectual property courses, workshops, MOOCs, webinars, certifications and specialized training on using the Guichet unique, for entrepreneurs and IP practitioners.
• Portefeuille Soleau / e-Soleau Digital proof-of-creation service establishing evidence of intellectual creation existence at a specific date, useful for ante-dating potential disputes; offered at €15 per 50MB deposit with five-year renewals.
• Pass PI Intellectual property financing solution providing financial support for SMEs to protect their innovations.
• SME Fund (SME Fund 2026) EU funding program for SMEs reimbursing intellectual property costs, offering up to €7,320 in reimbursements for 2026.
• Prédiagnostic PI Free, confidential intellectual property pre-diagnostic service helping entrepreneurs understand the importance of IP in their overall business strategy.
• Programme Start-up Startup support program helping emerging companies develop and implement intellectual property strategies.
• Registre National des Entreprises (RNE) National business registry maintained by INPI, recording all business registrations, modifications, official company deeds and annual accounts, accessible via DATA INPI.
• Start-INPI Application Mobile application dedicated to entrepreneurs, providing guidance on business creation and intellectual property procedures.
• BOPI (Bulletin Officiel de la Propriété Industrielle) Official industrial property bulletin publishing all decisions related to patents, trademarks, designs and geographical indications every Friday, serving as the legal publication tool of record for French IP.
• Trademark Opposition and Renunciation Proceedings Official proceeding services for trademark opposition (€400 base + €150 per additional prior right) and renunciation/inscription procedures (€27 standard, €79 expedited).
• Document Escrow (Entiercement) Digital escrow service for confidential document deposit and release, priced from €100 per 50MB deposit with renewal available.
• Design and Model Filing Service Service for filing designs and models, with a simplified procedure at €39 base deposit (up to 100 reproductions) and reproduction publication fees of €47 per color and €23 per black-and-white reproduction.
• Voyage dans les Indications Géographiques Interactive exploratory platform showcasing protected geographical indications through maps, timelines, and economic data visualizations.
• Palmarès des Brevets Patent depositor rankings showing leading patent filers at national and regional levels in France.
• PIBD (Propriété Industrielle – Bulletin Documentaire) Industrial property documentary bulletin publishing patent and trademark bibliographic information.
• Archives Historiques de l'INPI (archives.inpi.fr) Historical IP archive portal providing access to 19th-century French patent and trademark records for research and historical exhibitions.

Quantifiable outcome

• IP is identified as a growth accelerator for greentech companies in the INPI study covering 2,837 startups (2014–2024).

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Sciences & Vie JuniorminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 March 2026Sciences & Vie Junior organizes an annual youth innovation competition 'Junior Innovate' in partnership with INPI. The competition encourages young innovators to develop and protect their creative inventions, with INPI providing the partnership endorsement and award.
• OMPI (WIPO) — Organisation Mondiale de la Propriété IntellectuellecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026INPI co-organizes the annual Pitch Contest INPI with the World Intellectual Property Organization (OMPI/WIPO) and HEC Paris, held during VivaTech. OMPI provides the international IP framework and co-branding for this flagship innovation competition.
• HEC PariscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026HEC Paris partners with INPI and OMPI to co-host the Pitch Contest INPI at VivaTech, contributing academic prestige and entrepreneurial ecosystem reach.
• EUIPO (Office de l'Union européenne pour la propriété intellectuelle)coreTechnology or IntegrationEUIPO manages the EU trademark and design system. INPI cross-references EUIPO data and directs French businesses to EUIPO for EU-wide protection. The two offices share classifications (EUROLOCARNO for designs) and cooperate on harmonization.
• OEB (Office européen des brevets)coreTechnology or IntegrationThe EPO handles European patent filings. INPI cooperates with the EPO on patent-related procedures and refers businesses seeking European patent protection to the EPO system.
• Digital OceanminorOthersThe 'Voyage dans les indications géographiques' website is hosted on Digital Ocean servers located in the EU (Digital Ocean headquarters: 101 6th Avenue, New York, NY 10013, USA).

Scale indicators2 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO): EUIPO is the EU-level trademark and design registration authority with which INPI actively partners and cross-references data — a direct supranational peer in the EU IP stack.
• China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA): CNIPA is the world's largest national IP office by filing volume. It provides a global scale benchmark for INPI in terms of IP registration, examination, and data dissemination.
• United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO): USPTO is the U.S. national IP office handling patent and trademark registration, examination, and dissemination of IP data — directly comparable in mandate to INPI France for the U.S. market.
• European Patent Office (EPO): EPO handles European patent grant and examination. INPI refers French businesses to EPO for European patent protection — a direct upstream peer in the European IP filing chain.
• World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO): WIPO is the UN agency for global IP services (PCT, Madrid, Hague). INPI co-organizes the Pitch Contest with WIPO and operates as a national node in WIPO's international IP system.
• Japan Patent Office (JPO): JPO is Japan's national IP office, globally recognized for examination quality and IP data infrastructure — a direct functional peer to INPI at national scale.
• IP Australia: IP Australia administers patents, trademarks, and designs in Australia. It is a direct national peer to INPI with comparable digital service delivery and SME IP support programs.
• Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt (DPMA): DPMA is Germany's national IP office and one of the largest in Europe — closely comparable in mandate, scale, and product portfolio to INPI France.
• Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial (INPI Brazil): INPI Brazil is Brazil's national IP office with the same acronym and a parallel mandate covering patents, trademarks, industrial designs, and geographical indications — a closely comparable Latin American counterpart.
• UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO): UKIPO is the UK's national IP office with comparable mandate to INPI — patent and trademark examination, registration, and IP policy support for UK innovators.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/INPIFrance
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@inpifrance
• Facebookfacebook.com/inpifr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/inpifrance

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about INPI