Source: China IP News

"Each year, the mutual visit between China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and the French IP Office (INPI) is a very important event, during which the two sides can not only exchanges views on some practical issues, but also improve our IP system in France, so as to promote economic development and provide better service for businesses and innovators of two countries,"said INPI CEO Pascal Faure in an interview with China Intellectual Property News on September 4 at the French Embassy in China, clapping hands for the outcomes of the well-established cooperation between the two offices.He underlined that "We are celebrating 40 years of IP dialogue between France and China".

At present, an IP reform is underway in France in a bid to exert the full role of IP system. "Why should we initiate an IP reform in France? That's because we fully recognize the role of IP in facilitating business in France. Patent and trademark, for example, they can protect innovations of businesses, and transform them into profits," said Faure. In parallel, IP can enhance competitiveness of both businesses and our country. Last year, French has maintained a rapid growth trend in trademark applications at the rate of 5.5%. It is expected to maintain around 5% growth this year. In addition, geographical indications (GI) products play a significant role in propelling the French economy. Revenue of our companies could balloon by 50% after their products are enshrined with GI protection. 

In Faure's eyes, the IP reform has two goals. The first is to add more certainty to IP rights for their owners, and the second is to streamline IP application procedures, enabling start-ups and SMEs to apply for trademark and patent for their innovations at ease. "If we can pull off these two objectives, we will increase people's confidence in the French IP system, and elevating our IP protection to the level of China, the U.S., and Japan", according to Faure, "It is worth noting that in a bid to boost certainty of the patents granted by us, the post-reform INPI will commence evaluation of inventive step as what our Chinese partner has been doing."

In a bid to simplify IP application process, our goal is to create a provisional patent, which allows applicant to provide a brief overview of patent, and then transform the provisional patent into utility model and invention of French after one year. This is quite useful for the staffs of research institution, because they are not enough familiar with filing patent application, according to Faure.

"Our ultimate goal is to enable businesses, small or large, to find the best solution from the post-reform system and benefit from it, so that they can protect their innovations better and bolster their competitiveness in the global market," concluded Faure.