Challenges

The INPI’s brand heritage archives include meticulously preserved original deposit forms in registers. These constitute the Institute’s oldest collections and are in high demand for consultation and research. Facilitating public access is important for the Institute, providing an indispensable resource for reconstructing the history of a company, object, or product. Furthermore, it provides insight into France’s economic, social and cultural history during this period.

To grant access to these registers using a sustainable medium, the INPI launched a project to digitise 460,000 forms, dating from 1857 to 1920. The INPI believes it holds around 1.3 million documents registered before the first legal reform in 1965.

A long-term project

The project commenced in 2018 led by the INPI’s Archives Department, which is led by Steeve Gallizia (promotion and adding value) and Amandine Gabriac (head of the archiving project). The initial on-site phase of one year involved cleaning the registers and preparing files. This was followed by the digitisation phase in 2020 and 2021.

Trademarks: INPI treasures

Due to its historical and iconographic significance, the digitisation of this collection is a flagship project for Arkhênum. Our teams were eager to immerse themselves in the history of familiar and lesser-known trademarks, some holding a special place in our collective memory.

A dedicated project approach

Given the unique format and characteristics of this collection, Arkhênum needed to provide a customised solution. The project yielded numerous deliverables, including an alternative file in a permanent format for every register page and several distribution files for each form. The INPI’s intends to make the collection accessible online.

Additionally, we’ve generated supplementary files, especially when single trademarks span multiple forms, consolidating them into a single file. We’ve also identified photographs and specifically isolated them for dissemination.