Section 1: General information

Any invention may be the subject of an industrial property title issued by the Director of the National Institute of Industrial Property which confers on its holder or his successors in title an exclusive right of exploitation. The issue of the title gives rise to the legal dissemination provided for in Article L. 612-21. Subject to the provisions of international conventions to which France is a party, foreign nationals whose…

Industrial property titles protecting inventions are: 1° Patents for invention, granted for a term of twenty years from the date of filing of the application; 2° Utility certificates, granted for a term of ten years from the date of filing of the application; 3° Supplementary protection certificates attached to a patent under the conditions provided for in Article L. 611-3, taking effect at the legal term of the patent to…

Any owner of an invention patent having effect in France and relating to a medicinal product, a process for obtaining a medicinal product, a product necessary for obtaining such a medicinal product or a process for manufacturing such a product may, where these are used for the production of a pharmaceutical speciality which is the subject of a marketing authorisation in accordance with the articles L. 601 or L. 617-1…

Certificates of addition applied for prior to the entry into force of Law No. 90-1052 of 26 November 1990 on industrial property shall remain subject to the rules applicable on the date of their application. However, the exercise of the resulting rights shall be governed by the provisions of this Book.