French Intellectual Property Code

A European patent application may be filed with the National Institute of Industrial Property either at its headquarters or, where necessary, at its regional centres, in accordance with procedures to be specified by regulation. The application must be filed with the National Institute of Industrial Property, where the applicant has his domicile or registered office in France and does not claim the priority of an earlier filing in France.

The Minister responsible for defence is authorised to take cognisance at the Institut national de la propriété industrielle, on a confidential basis, of European patent applications filed at that institute.

Inventions which are the subject of European patent applications, filed with the National Institute of Industrial Property, may not be disclosed and freely exploited until authorisation has been granted to do so. During this period, applications may not be made public; no true copies may be issued unless authorised. The authorisations provided for in the first and second paragraphs of this article are granted by the Minister responsible for industrial…

Before the end of either of the periods mentioned in the last paragraph of article L. 614-4, the prohibitions provided for in the said article may be extended, at the request of the Minister for Defence, for a renewable period of one year. In this case, the request is not forwarded to the European Patent Office. Extended prohibitions may be lifted at any time. In the event of the prohibitions…