Conseil en propriété industrielle

A Conseil en Propriété Industrielle (ou « CPI ») is a professional specialising in a particular field of industrial property (either in marques, soit en patent law). A French patent attorney (conseil en propriété industrielle) practising in patent law will often also specialise in a particular technical field.

Their work consists in drafting and filing intellectual property rights (trade marks or patents) and ensuring that those rights are maintained in force. They also assess the validity of rights in the light of Office practice and of existing titles.

A conseil en propriété industrielle should not be confused with an intellectual property lawyer (avocat). Not only does the conseil en propriété industrielle not necessarily hold a legal qualification (although one may also be an avocat), but he or she is not entitled to represent clients before the courts.

The list of registered French patent and trade mark attorneys is available on the website of l’INPI.