As it does every year, the INPI (French National Institute of Industrial Property) has just unveiled its list of top patent applicants and holders. While the top three come from the automotive and aeronautics sectors, cosmetics ranks just below the podium.
“In 2025, the companies at the top of this ranking confirm the central role of French industry in the dynamics of innovation through patents,” says the INPI.
The top three are Stellantis, Safran, and Renault Group, major players in the automotive and aerospace sectors, with 1,294, 1,266, and 746 patents filed, respectively.
L’Oréal comes in fourth place, with 714 patents filed.
The cosmetics industry continues to feature prominently in the French patent filing ecosystem. While mobility, which encompasses manufacturers and equipment suppliers in the aeronautics, land, and maritime transport sectors, remains predominant, accounting for 31% of the companies in the ranking, the health, cosmetics, and chemical sectors account for 14% of companies, on a par with the energy sector, just behind the 19% represented by the digital and telecoms sector.
In the Top 50, which accounts for nearly 63% of filings made with the INPI in 2025, also includes the LVMH group (#43, 39 patents), Laboratoires Pierre Fabre (#45, 35 patents) and Aptar (#48, 27 patents), with the latter two entering the ranking for the first time this year.
The 2025 ranking of the top patent filers is available online on the INPI website.
