no
- via Paris Convention : 6 months from earliest priority date.
- Hague Agreement route: 6 months from earliest priority date.
- EU appearance route: 6 months from the earliest priority date.
INPI only conducts formality examination of utility model patent applications. Substantive examination may only be requested if the applicant deems it necessary. An invention protected by a patent can be protected simultaneously or successively with a utility model. To this end, applicants have a maximum of 1 year to make changes.
no
A novelty grace period of 6 months is available if:
- Disclosures caused at officially organized or officially sanctioned international exhibitions
- Disclosure resulting from being made public for reasons related to the misuse of the inventor or its predecessor owner
If the disclosure is caused by the designer, the novelty grace period is 12 months from the date of disclosure.
25 years
INPI conducts formality examination and substantive examination of invention patent applications. Substantive examination begins automatically, without the need to file a separate request.
yes. Before the applicant has received a final decision, an application to change the type of invention from a utility model to an invention may be proposed.
- via Paris Convention : 12 months from earliest priority date.
- via Nationalization of PCT : 30 months from the earliest priority date.
- Validation of European Patent in EPO member states: within 3 months from the date of granted of the European invention.
The initial protection is 6 years, which can be extended twice, up to a maximum of 10 years.