Regulatory part

Subject to the provisions of Article R. 612-31, the request for conversion of the utility certificate application into a patent application shall be made in writing at any time during the period of eighteen months from the filing of the utility certificate application or from the priority date if priority has been claimed and, in any event, before the start of the technical preparations, provided for in Article R. 612-39,…

Where the patent application results from the conversion of a utility certificate application in accordance with the provisions of the second paragraph of Article L. 612-15, the search report fee must be paid within one month of the date of receipt of the conversion request.

The request to convert the patent application referred to in Article R. 612-3 in an application for a utility certificate shall be made in writing at any time during the eighteen-month period from filing or from the priority date if priority has been claimed and, in any event, before the start of the technical preparations, provided for in Article R. 612-39, undertaken with a view to publication of the patent…

In the event that other patent applications have been filed relating to the same invention as that which is the subject of the French patent application, the National Institute of Industrial Property may invite the applicant, before the drawing up of the preliminary search report, to communicate to it, within a time limit which it shall set, the information available to it, on the date of notification, on the state…

A preliminary search report is drawn up. It cites the documents that may be taken into consideration to assess the patentability of the invention, which is the subject of the patent application. It is accompanied by an opinion on the patentability of the invention with regard to the documents cited. This opinion shall be accessible to third parties in the patent application file. The preliminary search report and the opinion…

The preliminary search report is immediately notified to the applicant, who, if prior art is cited, must, on pain of rejection of the patent application, file new claims or submit observations in support of the maintained claims.