Title I: Acquisition of rights

The claiming, on the occasion of a filing made in France, of a right of priority attached to a previous foreign filing entails the obligation to send to the Institut national de la propriété industrielle, within three months of the filing in France, an official copy of the previous filing and, if applicable, proof of the right to claim priority. If this obligation is not complied with, the claim to…

On receipt of the deposit, the declaration shall state: the date, place and serial number of the deposit or the national number provided for in the following article. A filing receipt is issued to the depositor. When the filing is made at the clerk’s office of the commercial court or of the judicial court in lieu thereof, the filing documents and the amount of the fees shall be transmitted without…

Upon receipt at the Institute, the filing gives rise to the allocation of a national number. Where it has not been possible to mention this number on the filing receipt, it shall be notified to the applicant. Any subsequent correspondence or filing of documents which does not mention the national filing number, which does not bear the signature of the applicant or his representative or which, where applicable, is not…

Any filing that does not include at least one copy of the application for registration containing the mention provided for in a of 1° of Article R. 512-3 and at least one copy of the graphic or photographic reproduction of the design(s) provided for in 2° of Article R. 512-3 and which is not accompanied by proof of payment of the filing fee. The above-mentioned reproduction must be of sufficient…

If the filing does not comply with the requirements of Article R. 512-3 or, in the case of a simplified filing, to the requirements of Article R. 512-4, or where publication of the filing is likely to offend public decency or public order, the applicant shall be notified of this with reasons. The applicant is given a period in which to rectify the filing or contest the Institute’s objections or,…

The application for registration may be withdrawn until the start of the technical preparations required by the publication provided for in the first paragraph of Article R. 512-10. Withdrawal shall be effected by a written declaration addressed or delivered to the Institute, made by the holder or his agent, who, unless he is an industrial property attorney or a lawyer, must provide proof of special authority. If there is more…

Failing an express decision within the period mentioned in Article R. 512-9-2, the application is deemed to be rejected.

Acknowledged filings are published in the Bulletin officiel de la propriété industrielle, unless the applicant has requested deferment of publication for three years at the time of filing. Deferment of publication may only relate to the entire filing. Publication only takes place at the end of the three-year period. Deferment is automatic if the filing was made in simplified form in accordance with article R. 512-4. The applicant may waive…

Where the filing has been made in simplified form, the applicant must, no later than six months before the end of the three-year period provided for in Article R. 512-10, waive deferment of publication in writing and deliver to the National Institute of Industrial Property: 1° Graphic or photographic reproductions of the design(s) to be published that comply with the presentation requirements set out in 2° of Article R. 512-3;…