The French utility certificates have gained renewed interest since the PACTE law of 2019.
The French utility certificate has shown renewed interest since the PACTE law of 2019, for the protection of inventions on French territory.The lifespan of the utility certificate in France is now 10 years from its filing date.Although subject to the same rules of patentability and therefore of validity as the patent, it is granted without having been subject to the establishment of a preliminary report on patentability (nor to the corresponding fee).After its publication 18 months from the filing date, third parties may make observations to which a response may be filed.If the utility certificate is invoked in infringement proceedings, the establishment of the preliminary report on patentability must be required before the French patent office (INPI).A patent application can be transformed into a utility certificate, and this, until the start of the technical preparations for publication, generally occurring 16 months after the filing of the application.Conversely, within the same period, it is now possible to transform a utility certificate into a patent application.
It is still possible to file a provisional patent application before INPI, which can be converted into a utility certificate within 12 months.
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