Priority

Priority protects against disclosure between priority demand and its own request. But it is not that simple …

Applicable text

France is a signatory State of the Paris Convention from the very first hour (the reverse would have been surprising): the article A4 CUP managing priority issues is well applicable in France.

The CPI does not explicitly indicate that CUP is applicable but the international treaties signed by France are applicable (A55 of the constitution of the 5th republic).

Substantive conditions to be respected

Persons who can claim a priority

Nationals of a State of the Union or member of the WTO

Because the Unionist right of priority applies only to the States of the Union (A1.1 CUP) or a member of the WTO (A2.1 TRIPS together A1.1 CUP), it has been interpreted that only persons who are nationals of these States may claim a Unionist right of priority.

However, there are no conditions of residence for these nationals (A2.2 CUP or A2.1 TRIPS together A2.2 CUP).

Such persons are defined as persons who are domiciled or have establishments " effective and serious In the territory of one of the countries of the Union (A3 CUP) or a member of the WTO (A2.1 TRIPS together A3 CUP).

Limitation

Nevertheless, this does not mean that there are only these conditions to claim a priority.

The only people who can claim priority are (A4.A.1 CUP):

• the applicant of the earlier application;
• his having cause:
  • the transfer of the right of priority must have taken place before the filing date of the application claiming priority;
  • the transfer of the right of priority must be recorded in writing (L613-8 CPIparagraph 5) on pain of nullity;
  • proof of the transfer must be provided in the 16 months from the priority date (R612-24 CPIparagraph 5).

It should be noted that the assignment of the priority application does not automatically entail, according to French case law, the assignment of the right of priority (the right of priority is an independent right, not incidental to the right to the patent, Court of Appeal of Paris, May 11, 1987): pay attention to the terms of the contract.

In addition, a broad stipulation of the type with all the rights attached to it without any reservation or exception Does not seem sufficient to give up the right of priority (Cass. com. June 18, 1996, No. 94-18909).

Requests to claim priority

Nature of requests

The application on which a priority claim for a patent application is based may beA4.E.2 CUP):

• a patent application,
• a utility model application.

Origins of requests

The priority request must have been filed:

• in a signatory country of CUP (A4.A.1 CUP);
• in a WTO member country (A2.1 TRIPS together A4.A.1 CUP).

The majority of "regional" applications (eg EP patent applications) provide that the filing of a "regional" application is equivalent to a national filing in one of the member countries. For example, a European application will give rise to a right of priority in France (A66 CBE).

In addition, the priority application may also have been filed in a country that provides similar priority provisions (L611-12 CPI).

Here is a list of CUP and WTO countries:

STATE	WTO	PCT	PLT	CUP	EPC
South Africa	01/01/1995	16/03/2009		01/12/1947
Albania	08/09/2000	04/10/1995	17/05/2010	04/10/1995	01/03/2010
Algeria		08/03/2000		01/03/1966
Germany	01/01/1995	24/01/1978		01/05/2003	07/10/1977
Andorra				02/06/2004
angola	23/11/1996	27/12/2007		27/12/2007
Antigua and Barbuda	01/01/1995	17/03/2000		17/03/2000
Saudi Arabia - Kingdom of	11/12/2005	03/08/2013		11/03/2004
Argentina	01/01/1995			10/02/1967
Armenia	05/02/2003	25/12/1991		25/12/1991
Australia	01/01/1995	31/03/1980	16/03/2009	10/10/2025
Austria	01/01/1995	23/04/1979		01/01/2009	01/05/1979
Azerbaijan		25/12/1995		25/12/1995
bahamas				10/07/1973
Bahrain - Kingdom of	01/01/1995	18/03/2007	15/12/2005	29/10/1997
bangladesh	01/01/1995			03/03/1991
Barbados	01/01/1995	12/03/1985		12/03/1985
Belarus		25/12/1991		25/12/1991
Belgium	01/01/1995	14/12/1981		07/07/1884	07/10/1977
belize	01/01/1995	17/06/2000		17/06/2000
Benign	22/02/1996	26/02/1987		10/01/1967
Burma	01/01/1995
Bhutan				04/08/2000
Bolivia - Plurinational State of	12/09/1995			04/11/1993
Bosmie Herzegovina		07/09/1996	09/05/2012	01/03/1992
botswana	31/05/1995	30/10/2003		15/04/1998
Brazil	01/01/1995	09/04/1978		07/07/1884
Brunei Darussalam	01/01/1995	24/07/2012		17/02/2012
Bulgaria	01/12/1996	21/03/1984		13/06/2021	01/07/2002
Burkina Faso	03/06/1995	21/03/1989		19/11/1963
Burundi	23/07/1995			03/09/1977
Cambodia	13/10/2004			22/09/1998
Cameroon	13/12/2005	24/01/1978		10/05/1964
Canada	01/01/1995	02/01/1990		12/06/2025
Green cap	23/07/2008
Chile	01/01/1995	02/06/2009		14/06/1991
China	11/12/2001	01/01/1994		19/03/1985
Cyprus	30/07/1995	01/04/1998		17/01/1966	01/04/1998
Colombia	30/04/1995	28/01/2001		06/09/1996
Comoros		03/04/2005		03/04/2005
Congo	27/03/1997	24/01/1978		02/09/1963
Korea - Republic of	01/01/1995	10/08/1984		04/05/1980
Costa Rica	01/01/1995	03/08/1999		31/10/1995
Ivory Coast	01/01/1995	30/04/1991		23/10/1963
Croatia	30/11/2000	01/07/1998	28/04/2005	08/10/1991	01/01/2008
Cuba	01/01/1995	16/01/1996		17/11/2004
Denmark	01/01/1995	01/12/1978	28/04/2005	01/10/1984	01/01/1990
Djibouti	01/01/1995			13/05/2001
Dominica	01/01/1995	07/08/1999		07/08/1999
Egypt	01/01/1995	06/09/2003		01/07/1951
El Salvador	01/01/1995	17/08/2006		19/02/1994
United Arab Emirates	10/04/1996	10/03/1999		19/02/1996
Ecuador	21/01/1996	07/05/2001		22/06/1999
Spain	01/01/1995	16/11/1989		07/07/1884	01/10/1986
Estonia	13/11/1995	24/08/1994	28/04/2005	24/08/1994	01/07/2002
United States of America	01/01/1995	24/01/1978		30/05/1887
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia	04/04/2003	10/08/1995	22/04/2010	08/09/1991	01/01/2009
Fiji	14/01/1996
Finland	01/01/1995	01/10/1980	06/03/2006	20/09/2021
la France	01/01/1995	25/02/1978	05/01/2010	07/07/1884	01/10/1977
Gabon	01/01/1995	24/01/1978		29/02/1964
Gambia	23/10/1996	09/12/1997		21/01/1992
Georgia	14/06/2000	25/12/1991		25/12/1991
Ghana	01/01/1995	26/02/1997		28/09/1976
Greece	01/01/1995	09/10/1990		02/10/2024	01/10/1986
Grenade	22/02/1996	22/09/1998		22/09/1998
Guatemala	01/01/1995	14/10/2006		18/08/1998
Guinea	01/01/1995	27/05/1991		05/02/1982
Guinea-Bissau	01/01/1995	12/12/1997		28/06/1988
Equatorial Guinea		17/07/2001		26/06/1997
guyana	01/01/1995			25/10/1994
Haiti	30/01/1996			01/07/1958
Honduras	01/01/1995	20/06/2006		04/02/1994
Hong Kong - China	01/01/1995
Hungary	01/01/1995	27/06/1980	12/03/2008	01/01/1979	01/01/2003
Solomon Islands	26/07/1996
India	01/01/1995	07/12/1998		07/12/1998
Indonesia	01/01/1995	05/09/1997		24/12/1950
Iran		04/10/2013		16/12/1959
iraq				24/01/1976
Ireland	01/01/1995	01/08/1992	27/05/2012	04/12/2025	01/08/1992
Iceland	01/01/1995	23/03/1995		05/05/1962	01/11/2004
Israel	01/01/1995	01/06/1996		24/03/1950
Italy	01/01/1995	28/03/1985		07/07/1884	01/12/1978
Jamaica	01/01/1995			24/12/1999
Japan	01/01/1995	01/10/1978		15/07/1899
Jordan	11/04/2000			17/07/1972
kazakhstan		25/12/1991	19/10/2011	25/12/1991
Kenya	01/01/1995	08/06/1994		14/06/1965
Kyrgyzstan	20/12/1998	25/12/1991	28/04/2005	25/12/1991
Kuwait	01/01/1995
Lesotho	31/05/1995	21/10/1985		28/09/1989
Latvia	10/02/1999	07/09/1993	12/06/2010	07/09/1993	01/07/2005
Lebanon				01/09/2024
Liberia		27/08/1994		27/08/1994
Libya		15/09/2005		28/09/1976
liechtenstein	01/09/1995		18/12/2009	14/07/1933	01/04/1980
Lithuania	31/05/2001	08/07/1994	03/02/2012	22/05/1994	01/12/2004
luxembourg	01/01/1995	30/04/1978		30/06/2022	07/10/1977
Macao - China	01/01/1995
Madagascar	17/11/1995	24/01/1978		21/12/1963
Malaysia	01/01/1995	16/08/2006		01/01/1989
Malawi	31/05/1995	24/01/1978		06/07/1964
Maldives	31/05/1995
Mali	31/05/1995	19/10/1984		01/03/1983
Malta	01/01/1995	01/03/2007		20/10/1967	01/03/2007
Morocco	01/01/1995	08/10/1999		30/07/2017
Mauritius	01/01/1995			24/09/1976
Mauritania	31/05/1995	13/04/1983		11/04/1965
Mexico	01/01/1995	01/01/1995		07/09/2003
moldova	26/07/2001	25/12/1991	28/04/2005
Monaco		22/06/1979		29/04/1956	01/12/1991
Mongolia	29/01/1997	27/05/1991		21/04/1985
Montenegro	29/04/2012	03/06/2006	09/03/2012	03/06/2006
mozambique	26/08/1995	18/05/2000		09/07/1998
Myanmar (Burma)	01/01/1995
Namibia	01/01/1995	01/01/2004		01/01/2004
Nepal	23/04/2004			22/06/2001
Nicaragua	03/09/1995	06/03/2003		03/07/1996
Niger	13/12/1996	21/03/1993		05/07/1964
Nigeria	01/01/1995	08/05/2005	28/04/2005	02/09/1963
Norway	01/01/1995	01/01/1980		01/07/1885	01/01/2008
New Zealand	01/01/1995	01/12/1992		29/07/1931
Oman	09/11/2000	26/10/2001	16/10/2007	14/07/1999
Uganda	01/01/1995	09/02/1995		14/06/1965
Uzbekistan		25/12/1991	19/07/2006	25/12/1991
Pakistan	01/01/1995			22/07/2004
Panama	06/09/1997	07/09/2012		19/10/1996
Papua New Guinea	09/06/1996	14/06/2003		15/05/1999
paraguay	01/01/1995			28/05/1994
Netherlands	01/01/1995	10/07/1979	27/12/2010	07/07/1884	07/10/1977
Peru	01/01/1995	06/06/2009		11/04/1995
philippines	01/01/1995	17/08/2001		27/09/1965
Poland	01/01/1995	25/12/1990		10/11/2019	01/03/2004
Portugal	01/01/1995	24/11/1992		07/07/1984	01/01/1992
Qatar	13/01/1996	03/08/2011		05/07/2000
Syrian Arab Republic		26/06/2003		01/09/2024
Central African Republic	31/05/1995	24/01/1978		19/11/1963
Democratic Republic of Congo	01/01/1997			31/01/1975
Dominican Republic	09/03/1995	28/05/2007
Kyrgyz Republic	20/12/1998
Lao People's Democratic Republic	02/02/2013	14/06/2006		08/10/1998
Democratic People's Republic of Korea		08/07/1980		10/06/1980
Slovak Republic	01/01/1995	01/01/1993		01/01/1993
Czech republic	01/01/1995	01/01/1993			01/07/2002
Romania	01/01/1995	23/07/1979	28/04/2005	06/10/2020	01/03/2003
United Kingdom	01/01/1995	24/01/1978	22/03/2006	07/07/1884	07/10/1977
Russia	22/08/2012	29/03/1978	12/08/2009	01/07/1965
Rwanda	22/05/1996	31/08/2011		01/03/1984
St. LUCIA	01/01/1995	30/08/1996		09/06/1995
St. Kitts and Nevis	21/02/1996	27/10/2005		09/04/1995
San Marino				04/03/1960	01/07/2009
Holy See				29/09/1960
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	01/01/1995	06/08/2002		29/08/1995
samoa	10/05/2012	21/09/2013
Sao Tome and Principe		03/07/2008		12/05/1998
Senegal	01/01/1995	24/01/1978		21/12/1963
Serbia		01/02/1997	20/08/2010	27/04/1992	01/10/2010
seychelles		07/11/2002		07/11/2002
Sierra Leone	23/07/1995	17/06/1997		17/06/1997
Singapore	01/01/1995	23/02/1995		23/02/1995
Slovakia			28/04/2005		01/07/2002
Slovenia	30/07/1995	01/03/1994	28/04/2005	25/06/1991	01/12/2002
Sudan		16/04/1984		16/04/1984
Sri Lanka	01/01/1995	26/02/1982		29/12/1952
Sweden	01/01/1995	17/05/1978	27/12/2007	01/07/1885	01/05/1978
Swiss	01/01/1995	24/01/1978	01/07/2008	07/07/1884	07/10/1977
suriname	01/01/1995			25/11/1975
swaziland	01/01/1995	20/09/1994		12/05/1991
Tajikistan	02/03/2013	25/12/1991		25/12/1991
Chinese Taipei	01/01/2002
Tanzania	01/01/1995	14/09/1999		16/06/1963
Chad	19/10/1996	24/01/1978		19/11/1963
Thailand	01/01/1995	24/12/2009		02/08/2008
Togo	31/05/1995	24/01/1978		10/09/1967
tonga	27/07/2007			14/06/2001
Trinidad and Tobago	01/03/1995	10/03/1994		01/08/1964
Tunisia	29/03/1995	10/12/2001		07/07/1884
Turkmenistan		25/12/1991		25/12/1991
Turkey	26/03/1995	01/01/1996		10/10/2025	01/11/2000
Ukraine	16/05/2008	25/12/1991	28/04/2005	25/12/1991
European Union	01/01/1995
Uruguay	01/01/1995			18/03/1967
Vanuatu - Republic of	24/08/2012
Venezuela - Bolivarian Republic of	01/01/1995			12/09/1995
Viet Nam	11/01/2007	10/03/1993		08/03/1969
Yemen				15/02/2007
Zambia	01/01/1995	15/11/2001		06/04/1965
Zimbabwe	05/03/1995	11/06/1997		18/04/1980

Same invention

A subsequent request DU contains the same invention as the earlier application DA if one skilled in the art can "apprehend" the object claimed from the previous application (Cass. com. of 31 January 2012, No. 11-10924, Time sport c. Go Sport), ie to deduce the object claimed from the previous application:

• directly (Cass. com. of November 6, 2012, No. 11-19375, Time sport c. Intersport);
• without ambiguity (Court of Appeal of Paris, pole 5, ch 1, October 27, 2010).

In particular, the prior application must accurately disclose the claimed object, even if it were in the description or drawings (L612-7 CPIparagraph 4).

If an element is not present in the previous application, this element will not benefit from the priority (L612-7 CPIparagraph 3).

12 month period from the first request

Generality

It is only possible to claim the priority of an application during a period of 12 months from the first application (A4.C.1 CUP).

It is possible to ask to be restored in its right to file under priority, if one can justify a legitimate excuse (L612-16-1 CPIparagraph 1). This request (as well as the filing under priority) must be made within a 2 months from the expiry of the priority period (L612-16-1 CPIparagraph 2 and 3). However, the technical preparations for publication of the earlier application should not be completed (L612-16-1 CPIparagraph 3).

Real first request

A first request seems to be a request that has been:

• for the first time,
• filed in a CUP party state or a WTO member,
• and referring to the same invention as a subsequent application.

First Request Fiction

Principle

By fiction, it is possible to consider a subsequent request as "first request" (A4.C.4 CUP).

To do this, it is necessary to respect the conditions of theA4.C.4 CUP :

• the subsequent application must:
  • have the same object that the previous application (true first request normally);
  • have been filed in the same state CUP or WTO that the previous application,
• the earlier application must, on the filing date of the subsequent application,
  • have been withdrawn, abandoned or refused,
  • without being submitted topublic inspection
  • without leaving subsist rights,
  • that she not yet served basic for the claim the right of priority.

The earlier application can no longer be used as a basis for claiming the right of priority (A4.C.4 CUP).

In this example, at the D2 filing date, there is no entitlement for D1 and D1 has not been used as a basis for another priority claim.

Not withdrawn, abandoned or refused

It may happen that the earlier application, on the date of filing of the subsequent application, has not been withdrawn, abandoned or refused.

In this case, the priority claim for the subsequent application is not valid.

Have been subjected to public inspection

This public inspection may be, in particular:

• publication under L612-21 CPI, 1 °;
• the notification of the article L615-4 CPI to make its patent application effective in any dispute.

Leave rights

It is not very clear what rights are covered by this expression.

As mentioned in the European directives (F-VI 1.4.1 Directives), we can think of the rights that allow another application to benefit from the filing date of a subsequent application (outside the priority):

• US "continuation" or "continuation-in-part";
• divisionaries;
• etc.

In the case presented, the D1 request is a first request for A, B and C, while D2 is a first request for D.

Note that FR1 will be a L611-11 CPI, paragraph 2 for FR2 because of its publication (for A and B).

Previous request outside UPC

If the previous application is filed outside the UPC / WTO, the previous application will not be a first request (because it will not have created a right of priority, the contrary would be contrary to the spirit of the CUP) and will therefore not interfere. not a priority claim of a subsequent application in a CUP / WTO country.

Not having served as the basis for a priority claim

The mere fact that an application has claimed the priority of the earlier application (even if no publication takes place) renders final the fact that the earlier application is a first application.

Same applicant

If the applicant is not the same in the application (A4.C.4 CUP), things can be quite surprising.

Exhaustion of the right of priority

If for a time French jurisprudence considered that the right of priority could be exhausted (Cass. civ, July 18, 1934, JACOBSON / PAISSEAU), the concept of exhaustion of the right of priority is now rejected by the courts (Paris Tribunal de Grande Instance, 3rd c., 1st Sect. September 28, 2010).

(Note: in this last decision, the court is seized of a European patent but explicitly mentions the spirit of the Paris Convention with regard to the exhaustion of the right of priority).

Claiming Multiple Priorities

It is quite possible to claim several priorities, even if they come from different states (L612-7 CPIparagraph 2).

"Internal" priority

Principle

CUP does not foresee the fact that one can claim the priority of an application in the same state (A4.A.1 CUP, " to deposit in other countries").

Faced with this shortcoming, the French legislator has provided for national provisions to benefit from the filing date of a previous French application under certain conditions: this benefit is commonly called "internal priority".

An "internal priority" request may be submitted for a French application A (L612-3 CPI):

• if another French application B (filed by the same applicant) was filed less than 12 months before;
• if neither A nor B claims a "Unionist" priority;
• if B does not claim an "internal" priority of more than 12 months in relation to A;
• if B is "publishable" (R612-25 CPI, 3 °).

The request must be presented during the deposit demand (R612-25 CPI, 1 °).

Expiration date of an application claiming internal priority

It's pretty clear that we commonly call this article mechanism L612-3 CPI an internal priority.

But is it right to call it that?

Indeed, we can ask ourselves how to calculate the expiration date if a request B claims the benefit of the filing date of a request A:

• is it 20 years from B?
  • to consider this mechanism as a priority mechanism (as for a unionist priority) would encourage us to think so.
• is it 20 years from A?
  • wording of the article L612-3 CPI might suggest that request B takes as the filing date the filing date of A.

In truth, doctrinal debates exist on this subject and no jurisprudence comes to enlighten us.

First request?

Article L612-3 CPI does not provide that the application for which the benefit of the priority date is required is a first application.

Withdrawal and publication

Requiring the benefit of the filing date of a French application results in its publication at 18 months, even if this request would have been withdrawn (R612-39 CPI, 5 °).

This is very important because this request can be used as prior art L611-11 CPI, paragraph 3.

Subsequent claim of a Union priority

We can ask ourselves if we can claim the union priority of an application B benefiting from the filing date of A according to the article L612-3 CPI.

This is a subject to which we must pay close attention.

Indeed, request B is not a priori a first request for a certain number of objects. The priority of A and B should be claimed for safety.

Even if the request A was abandoned, the latter left rights (ie the benefit of the filing date). Thus request B should not be able to be considered as a first request (by fiction).

Translation of the priority document

The INPI may require a translation of the part of the priority document which contains the filing date and the number of the foreign application, as well as an indication of the State in which or for which this priority application has been filed (Order of 19 September 1979 on the procedure for filing patent applicationsArticle 20).

It does not seem that the INPI can ask for more.

Formal requirements

See the filing requirements for more detail.

Various

Claim date

Principle

The date of each claim is analyzed independently of each other.

If an FR application filed at t1 claims an object A and the priority filed at t0 contains object A, then claim A has an effective date t0 (L611-11 CPI, paragraph 2, and INPI Examination Guidelines, IC VII.4.A).

A and B

If an RF application filed at t2 claims an object "A and B" and the claim claims two priorities (A to t0 and B to t1), then claim "A and B" has an effective date t2 (filing date of the request FR).

This principle will most likely be an exception if the priority filed at t1 explicitly mentions the priority deposited at t0, indicating that the characteristics of the two documents can be combined in a particular way (inspired by F-VI 1.5 Guidelines).

A or B

The use of the word "or" is in fact a sign that the claim must be analyzed as two claims.

If an RF application filed at t2 claims an object "A or B" and that claim claims two priorities (A to t0 and B to t1), then the claim "A or B" has two effective dates:

• t1 for B;
• t0 for A.

A and / or B

A claim "A and / or B" contains 3 objects "A", "B" and "A and B".

Withdrawal / waiver of priority claim

It is entirely possible to waive or withdraw a priority (this principle, even if not provided for by the code, is derived from the possibility of total or partial withdrawal of the request of the article L613-24 CPI according to INPI Examination Guidelines, IB II.5.6).

Deadlines (only those not expired, INPI Examination Guidelines, IB II.5.6.b) are then recalculated as from the new effective date of the application.

In addition, publication is delayed if the withdrawal occurs before the technical preparations for publication begin (INPI Examination Guidelines, IB II.5.6.a).

Claiming an invalid priority

Claiming a priority does not protect against the opposability of this priority demand.

In the following situation, the priority request FR1 is opposable under the article L611-11 CPI paragraph 3, against object A claimed by FR2 because the priority is not valid.

Note that even if FR1 is withdrawn before publication, this will not change anything since requiring the benefit of the filing date of a French application results in its publication as a request (R612-39 CPI, 5 °).