Working Visit of the Director General of the French National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI)

Thursday, March 27, 2025, Mr. Pascal FAURE, Director General of the INPI, accompanied by two of his colleagues (Mr. Jérémie FENICHEL, Director of the Industrial Property and Business Department, and Mr. Eric CATAPANO, Regional Delegate for PACA within the Economic Action Directorate), carried out a working visit to the Principality.

One of the key moments of this visit was the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Mr. FAURE and Mr. Pierre-André CHIAPPORI, Minister of Finance and Economy, aimed at strengthening cooperation between the INPI and the Industrial Property Division (D.P.I.) of the Economic Development Directorate. This cooperation will be implemented through joint activities and projects, including the harmonization of procedures for processing intellectual property protection requests, resource sharing, and participation in awareness, promotion, and information campaigns as part of the programs developed by the Francophone Intellectual Property Alliance.

During this visit, the INPI delegation had the opportunity to meet startups based at the MONACOTECH incubator, where Mr. Pascal FAURE emphasized the importance of intellectual property rights as a true growth driver. He also had extensive discussions with Mr. Stéphan BRUNO, Director of the Economic Development Directorate, and Mr. Jean-Pierre SANTOS, Head of the D.P.I., who presented the division’s activities and future ambitions, particularly in relation to the memorandum of understanding.

This visit to the Principality not only demonstrated the excellence of the relations maintained by the two national offices over several decades—through the implementation of the 2006 bilateral cooperation agreement and their collaboration in the governance of the European Patent Office—but also officially marked the D.P.I.’s entry into the Francophone Intellectual Property Alliance.