Chapter III: Patent rights

The owner of the patent and the licensees may, within fifteen days of receipt of the notification provided for in the preceding article, or, if the notification has not reached them, following the publication provided for in the same article, send their observations to the commission.

The rapporteur’s proposals and the file compiled by him shall be communicated to the owners of the patent and, where appropriate, to the licensees. The President shall lay down the conditions, date and form of this communication and the period within which interested parties shall be allowed to submit their observations.

The Commission shall give its decision within two months of the date on which the decision referred to it is received by its secretariat.

The order provided for in Article L. 613-16 shall be adopted immediately after the opinion of the Committee. The patent owner, licensees and the Director General of the Institut National de la Propriété Industrielle shall be notified of the decision. It shall be entered automatically in the National Patent Register.

The application for an operating licence provided for in Article L. 613-17 is sent to the Minister responsible for industrial property. It shall indicate: 1° The surname, first names, profession, address and nationality of the applicant and, where applicable, the name of the person responsible for representing or assisting the applicant; 2° The patent for which the licence is requested; 3° Proof of the applicant’s qualifications, particularly from a legal,…

Within a maximum period of two months from receipt of the request, the committee referred to in Article R. 613-10 gives its opinion on the conditions for granting the exploitation licence, particularly as regards its duration and scope. This opinion is notified to the licence applicant as well as to the patent owner and, where applicable, to the holders of licences entered in the National Patent Register. The Chairman of…

The Minister responsible for industrial property takes his decision in the light of the final opinion issued by the commission, after examining the observations of the interested parties.

The order granting the exploitation licence provided for in Article L. 613-17 is notified to the patent owner, licensees and the beneficiary of the requested licence. It is automatically entered in the National Patent Register.

The licence applicant, the patent owner and the licence holders or their representatives may be heard by the committee responsible for issuing the opinions provided for in articles R. 613-10 and R. 613-19, either at their request, or when summoned by the commission of its own motion. The summonses are sent to them at least eight days in advance.

In the event that the time limits set out in articles R. 613-14, R. 613-15 and R. 613-19 (paragraph 2) are not complied with, the commission shall disregard them without any reminder or formal notice.