France’s National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) has accepted an application for protected geographical indication status for Morta, the fossilised wood found in the Brière marshes. Filed by the Association des artisans de la Morta en Brière (ABAM), it is the third application handled by INPI under the EU’s new geographical indication framework for craft and industrial products, after santons de Provence and espadrilles de Catalogne.The rules have applied since 1 December 2025. INPI examines the national stage, while the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) is...

On 3 June 2026, the Paris Judicial Court ruled in a dispute brought by Hermès International and Hermès Sellier against Le Bidon Français, a French gallery operator. The defendant displayed and sold decorative objects—including crushed cans, trays and fire extinguishers—bearing Hermès word and figurative marks, while also using the Hermès name in product listings and social-media promotion. The court found that the signs were being used to market and sell goods, amounting to trademark infringement, and also upheld Hermès Sellier’s unfair competition claim.The ruling does not say that...

In mid-May, EUIPO and the related working group formally released the Practical Guide for implementing the new regime on craft and industrial geographical indications, a sign that the framework is moving from legislation into day-to-day administration. Just days later, on 17 May, Porcelaine de Limoges was approved as the first name registered under the EU’s new craft and industrial GI system. That is more than a symbolic first filing. It marks the point at which EU geographical-indication protection, long associated mainly with wines, foods and agricultural goods, begins to operate in...

In early July 2026, the French signal is not just about counterfeit goods showing up at summer fairs. It is broader than that. Trade fairs, tourism season, online copying, platform visibility and cross-border brand exposure are all colliding at once. Read against the deeper cooperation framework between the INPI and French Customs, this is becoming a more integrated enforcement environment in which exhibitors, online sellers, right holders and advisers all face a shorter reaction window.For many innovative brands from Asia and other non-European markets, the pressure point is especially...