PATENT PROTECTION IN FRANCE Jean François LEBESNERAIS Adviser - Patent Department INPI INPI -Jean-François Lebesnerais French-Japanese Workshop TOKYO 10 & 11 March 2003 P.1
INPI : National Institute for Industrial Property French Patent and Trademark Office, under supervision of the French Industry Ministry Location : Paris (450 people) Departments : Nanterre, Compiegne & Lille ( 200 people) 12 regional delegations information desks, libraries and I.P training courses centers ( 150 people) Budget : 124 millions Euros Duties of the INPI: granting national industrial property titles ( patents, trademarks, industrial designs) providing official information concerning industrial property to the public and IP information policy keeping the Trade and Companies Register in addition to the Central Business Directory participating in the drafting of industrial property laws and in the negotiation of international treaties in IP area INPI - Jean-François LEBESNERAIS French-Japanese Workshop TOKYO 10 & 11 March 2003 P.2
PROTECTING INVENTIONS IN FRANCE Patent applications for protection in France can be filed : through the French route, in which case a French patent will be granted ( 17 000 applications in 2001) through the European route, with granting of a European patent designating France. ( 57 000 applications in 2001) through the International route by an international patent application (PCT) which designates France. ( 102 000 applications in 2001) INPI - Jean-François LEBESNERAIS French-Japanese Workshop TOKYO 10 & 11 March 2003 P.3
Patents granted by country of origin 42 963 Patents granted in 2001 with effect in France by national route ( 26%) or by European route (76%) E.U 24515 (57%) France 11085 (26%) USA 8430 (20%) JAPAN 6176 (14%) INPI - Jean-François LEBESNERAIS French-Japanese Workshop TOKYO 10 & 11 March 2003 P.4
Main Applicants in France Organisation Number of Applications Total National route European and international route 1 Philips Electronics NV NL 72 900 972 2 Lucent Technologies Inc US - 887 887 3 Alcatel FR 279 424 703 4 Sony Corp JP 2 616 618 5 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha JP 71 540 611 5 Matsushita Electric Industrial JP 2 609 611 Co Ltd 7 Siemens AG DE 112 494 606 8 NEC Corporation JP 34 483 517 9 Robert Bosch GmbH DE 158 321 479 10 General Electric Company US 23 408 431 INPI - Jean-François LEBESNERAIS French-Japanese Workshop TOKYO 10 & 11 March 2003 P.5
SUBSTANTIVE CONDITIONS FOR OBTAINING A PATENT RIGHT Since 1978, harmonization of patentability in all countries in Europe France : Intellectual Property Code IPC EPO : European Patent Convention EPC Art 52 EPC - Art L 611-10 IPC : Inventions which are susceptible of industrial application, which are new and which involve an inventive step shall be patentable INPI - Jean-François LEBESNERAIS French-Japanese Workshop TOKYO 10 & 11 March 2003 P.6
PATENTABLE INVENTIONS Shall not be regarded as inventions : Art L 611-10 IPC Art 52 EPC discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods aesthetic creations schemes, rules and methods for performing mental acts, playing games or doing business programs for computers presentation of information Shall not be patentable : Art L 611-17 IPC Art 53 EPC inventions the publication or the exploitation of which would be contrary to the public policy or morality new plant varieties animal varieties or essentially biological processes for the production of plants or animals INPI - Jean-François LEBESNERAIS French-Japanese Workshop TOKYO 10 & 11 March 2003 P.7
PATENTABILITY CONDITIONS ABSOLUTE NOVELTY : the novelty involves the comparison of the invention with the state of the art. The state of the art comprises all information available to the public INVENTIVE STEP : non obviousness of the invention in comparison with the state of the art. The non obviousness shall be appreciated by a person skilled in the art An invention shall be considered susceptible of INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION if it can be made or used in any kind of industry, including agriculture. INPI - Jean-François LEBESNERAIS French-Japanese Workshop TOKYO 10 & 11 March 2003 P.8
FRENCH PATENT GRANTING PROCEDURE FILING AN APPLICATION CHECKING FILING REQUIREMENTS NATIONAL DEFENCE ADMINISTRATIVE AND TECHNICAL EXAMINATION PRELIMINARY SEARCH REPORT CONVERSION TO UTILITY CERTIFICATE. PUBLICATION OF THE APPLICATION APPLICANT RESPONSE THIRD PARTY OBSERVATIONS (FINAL) SEARCH REPORT GRANTING INPI - Jean-François LEBESNERAIS French-Japanese Workshop TOKYO 10 & 11 March 2003 P.9
TECHNICAL EXAMINATION REGULARITY OF THE APPLICATION CONCERNING 1) creations excluded from the patentabillity 2) non unitary application a) new draft of the claims by the applicant b) filing of a divisional application 3) clarity and understanding of the description and the claims possibility of rejection of the application 4) support of the claims by the description 5) technical elements of the application - claims (non technical features, linkage of the claims) - technical abstract (sufficient documentary quality) OFFICIAL LETTER sent to the applicant in case of non regularity Partly or wholly REJECTION PROCEDURE INPI - Jean-François LEBESNERAIS French-Japanese Workshop TOKYO 10 & 11 March 2003 P.10
PRELIMINARY SEARCH REPORT 1) STARTING OF THE SEARCH PHASE - at the moment of the filing date or after a period of 18 months - if the search fee has not been paid, transformation into utility certificate 2) THE SUBCONTRACTING OF THE SEARCH TO EPO - the preliminary search report contains the prior art documents to assess the value of the novelty and the inventive step - transmission to the applicant 8 or 9 months after the filing date 3) THE APPLICANT S RESPONSE - if relevant documents have been cited comments and/or claims modifications must be filed - in the case of non response, rejection of the application INPI - Jean-François LEBESNERAIS French-Japanese Workshop TOKYO 10 & 11 March 2003 P.11
GRANTING EXAMINATION OF THE RESPONSE TO THE PRELIMINARY SEARCH REPORT novelty examination - partly or wholly procedure of rejection in the case of manifest absence of novelty of the claims PREPARATION OF A FINAL SEARCH REPORT in view of the relevance of the documents with the latest set of claims PUBLICATION OF THE SPECIFICATION with the search report INPI - Jean-François LEBESNERAIS French-Japanese Workshop TOKYO 10 & 11 March 2003 P.12
OFFICIAL FEES Filing fee Search fee Granting fee 2d to 5th year fee 6th to 7th year fee 10th to 15th year fee 16th to 20th year fee 35 Eur 4 000 Y 320 Eur 40 700 Y 85 Eur 11 000 Y 25 Eur 3 000 Y 135 Eur 17 200 Y 270 Eur 34 000 Y 530 Eur 67 000 Y TOTAL 5215 Eur 700 000 Y INPI - Jean-François LEBESNERAIS French-Japanese Workshop TOKYO 10 & 11 March 2003 P.13
PATENT DEPARTMENT OF INPI 80 EXAMINERS TO COVER ALLTECHNICAL FIELD MAIN DUTY : examination of the patent applications, drafting of the final search report, technical and legal advises concerning patent applications. OTHERS DUTIES - IP information courses for SME, for students in engineering universities - Cooperation with the international affairs department (OAPI,China,Brazil) - General information to future applicants (150 persons by month in Paris ) - Documentary research in the field of patents, trademarks and design - Experts by the National Commission for Employees Inventions - Help to regional delegations - Participation to professional fairs INPI - Jean-François LEBESNERAIS French-Japanese Workshop TOKYO 10 & 11 March 2003 P.14
ADVANTAGES OF THE FRENCH PROCEDURE FRENCH PROCEDURE Procedure with examination of novelty, but no examination of inventive step Prior art listing, drawn up by the EPO, enabling the applicant to evaluate by himself the patentability of the invention France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg allow the applicant by a first low cost application to extend his protection abroad (EPO, PCT) INPI - Jean-François LEBESNERAIS French-Japanese Workshop TOKYO 10 & 11 March 2003 P.15
RECENT / FUTUR DEVELOPMENTS electronic filing ratification of the PLT ( restoration of priority right, language filing requirements ) ratification of London agreement (suppression of translations into French for granted European patents) INPI - Jean-François LEBESNERAIS French-Japanese Workshop TOKYO 10 & 11 March 2003 P.16
MERCI ARIGATO GOZAIMASU INPI - Jean-François LEBESNERAIS French-Japanese Workshop TOKYO 10 & 11 March 2003 P.17