Definition of industrial application
Only inventions with a possible industrial application are patentable (L611-10 CPI).
An invention is considered as susceptible of industrial application if its object can be made or in use in any kind of industry, including agriculture (L611-15 CPI).
Assessment of industrial application
Principle
There is an industrial application:
- if the invention can be realized (Court of Appeal of Paris, 4th ch., Sect. A., September 20, 2006);
- even if the result is not perfect (Court of Appeal of Paris, 4th ch., Sect. A., September 20, 2006 or Court of Appeal of Paris, 4th ch., Sect. B, January 6, 2006);
- although some industrial adjustments are necessary (Court of Appeal of Paris, 4th ch., Sect. B, October 28, 2005).
Special case of a technical application of an element of the human body
If the elements of the human body are not patentable, it is possible to protect by patent the technical application of a function of a human body element »(L611-18 CPI).
It is appropriate to indicate precisely the application in the patent application (L611-18 CPI): if the application has not been identified at the filing date of the application, the invention is not patentable (eg a piece of DNA whose function or product is unknown, INPI Examination Guidelines, IC VII-2.3).
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