the competent trademark authority in France is the state industrial property office (INPI). The departments that accept trademark registration are the State Industrial Property Office and local commercial courts. Therefore, there are two ways to register trademarks in France: 1. Trademark applicants register with the State Industrial Property Office; 2. It is registered with the commercial court in the region where the company is located. These two registration methods have the same legal effect. If a trademark is finally approved for registration, the effective date of the trademark shall be counted from the receipt of the application by the State Property Office or the commercial court. To apply for a registered trademark, you generally need to submit two documents: 1. It is an "application form for registered trademark"; 2. It's a "payment receipt", and a "power of attorney" should be submitted when an agent is entrusted to handle the registration formalities. After receiving the application form for trademark registration, the State Industrial Property Office will examine the trademark to decide whether to approve its registration. Focus on three aspects: the legitimacy of the trademark, the exclusivity of the trademark and whether the application form is filled in correctly. Once a trademark is legally registered, it gains exclusive rights and is protected by law, and no other company has the right to use it without authorization. There are two types of patents in France: patents and use certificates, both of which have the same nature and the same effect. There are three differences: 1. The protection period is different: the protection period of patents is 2 years, and the protection period of use certificates is 6 years; 2. Different approval procedures: before approving a patent, it is necessary to inquire whether anyone has registered this patent before, and it is not necessary to inquire in advance to apply for a certificate of use; 3. Applying for a patent can be transformed into applying for a certificate of use, but applying for a certificate of use cannot be transformed into applying for a patent. The main procedures for applying for a French patent are as follows: 1. The applicant submits a patent application to the French Industrial Property Office; 2. Pay the application fee and pre-research report fee; 3. Examination and approval by the Industrial Property Office; 4. Pay patent fees and obtain patent certificates; 5. Publish the patent certificate to the public.