STATUTES OF FRANCE

RELATING TO LETTERS PATENT.

Louis Philippe, King of the French, to all to whom these Presents shall come, greeting: We have proposed, the Chambers have adopted, We have ordered, and do order as follows.

Patents for invention and discovery.

In what the same shall consist.

What are not

tection.

CHAPTER I.

GENERAL ARRANGEMENTS.

ART. 1.-Any new invention or discovery, in any branch of manufacture, entitles its author, upon the conditions and for the terms hereinafter mentioned, to the exclusive right of putting the said invention or discovery into operation, for his own benefit.This right is secured by documents, granted by the government, under the name of Brevets of Invention.

ART. 2.—The following shall be considered as new inventions or discoveries :-The invention of new manufactures; and the invention of new means, or the novel application of known means, for the purpose of obtaining a result, or a manufactured product.

ART. 3.-The following cannot be protected by Brevet:-1st. subject of pro- Pharmaceutical compositions or remedies of any kind; these being subject to laws and regulations made for that purpose, and more particularly to the decree of the 18th August, 1810, relating to secret remedies. 2nd. Financial or monetary plans or combinations.

ART. 4.-The duration of Brevets shall be five, ten, or fifteen years. Each Brevet shall be subject to a fixed tax, namely, 500 fr. for five years, 1,000 fr. for ten years, and 1,500 fr. for fifteen years. This tax must be paid by annuities of 100 fr. each under penalty of forfeiture, if the patentee allows one year to elapse without paying the same.

CHAPTER II.

ON THE FORMALITIES RELATING TO THE DELIVERY OF PATENTS.

SECTION 1.-On the Applications for Patents.

endorsement.

ART. 5.-Persons wishing to obtain Brevets of Invention, must Petition, spedeposit under seal, at the office of the Secretary of the Prefecture, cification, and in the department in which they reside, or in any other depart- drawings, and ment, on choosing a representative residing there:-1st. A petition to the Minister of Agriculture and Commerce. 2d. A description of the discovery, invention, or application, forming the subject of the petition. 3d. The drawings or specimens necessary for the elucidation of the description. And, 4th. A list of the documents deposited.

rections of

pa

ART. 6. The demand, or petition, must be confined to one But one invenprincipal object, with the details thereof, pointing out the pur- tion can be apposes to which it is applicable. It must mention the term for plied for under one demand. which the petitioner wishes to obtain his patent, which must be Must state within the limits fixed in Article 4, and must contain neither restric- term desired. tions, conditions, nor reservations. It must set forth a title, giving What lana correct and concise idea of the object of the invention. The guage cordescription must not be written in any foreign language (i. e. it pers-weights must be in French,) and must be written without any alterations or and measures. additions. All words which are struck through as wrong, must be How drawcounted and attested, and all corrections properly referred to. It ings must be must not contain any weights or measures other than those con- powers of Attained in the table annexed to the law of the 4th July, 1837. The torney. drawings must be in ink, and drawn to a scale. A duplicate of the description and drawings must be annexed to the petition. All .the documents must be signed by the petitioner, or some person appointed by him, and, in the latter case, a document, empowering him, must be annexed to the petition.

made. Of

certificates

ART. 7.-No application, will be received, except on the produc- First fee must tion of a receipt, certifying the payment of a sum of 100 fr. on be paid on apaccount of the fees payable on the patent. A certificate or memo- plication, and randum, entered, free of expense, by the Secretary-General of the given. Prefecture, in a register kept for that purpose, and signed by the petitioner, will verify each application, pointing out the day and hour when the documents were deposited. A copy of this certificate or memorandum will be delivered to the person depositing, upon payment of the expense of the stamp.

ART. 8.-The patent shall date from the time of the deposit pre- Patent dates scribed in Article 5.

from.

Transmission of papers to Ministers of Agriculture and Com

merce.

Patents delivered in the

SECTION 2.-On the Delivery of Patents.

ART. 9.-Immediately after the enrolment of the petition, and within five days from the date of the deposit, the Prefect will transmit the documents, under the seal of the inventor, to the Minister of Agriculture and Commerce, together with a certified copy of the certificate or memorandum of deposit, the receipt verifying the payment of the tax, and, if necessary, the power or warrant mentioned in Art. 6.

ART. 10. On the arrival of the documents at the office of the Minister of Agriculture and Commerce, the demands will be opened order of date and enrolled, and the patents delivered in the order in which the of application. demands or petitions are received.

Novelty not -examined or guaranteed. Of what the

and certifi

cates.

ART. 11.-—Patents, which have been demanded in the regular manner, will be delivered, without previous examination, at the risk and peril of the inventor, and without guaranteeing either patent consists. the reality, novelty, or merit of the invention, or the correctness Cost of copies or sufficiency of the description. An order from the Minister, verifying the regularity of the demand, will be delivered to the petitioner, and will constitute the patent. To this will be annexed the certified duplicate of the description and drawings mentioned in Art. 6, after it has been examined and found to agree with the original. The first copy of the patents shall be delivered free of expense. Any copy of which may be subsequently required by the patentee, or his assignees, will cost 25 francs. The expense of drawings, if any, will be defrayed by the patentee.

When informal will be rejected, and fees returned

in certain cases.

Lists publish

ed.

Prolongation.

ART. 12.-All demands or petitions which shall not be according to the formalities prescribed by Nos. 2, and 3, of Art. 5, and by Art. 6, will be rejected. One half of the sum paid will go to the Treasury, but the whole of the sum will be allowed to the petitioner, if he presents his petition within three months from the time when notice is given to him that the patent is refused.

ART. 13.-When, under Art. 3, patents cannot be granted, the fees will be returned.

ART. 14.—A list of all patents granted will be published every three months, by royal order, in the Bulletin des Lois.

ART. 15.-The term of patents can only be prolonged by a law made for that purpose.

SECTION 3.-On Certificates of Addition.

Of additions, ART. 16. The patentee or his assignees may, during the whole alterations and term of the patent, make any alterations, improvements, or addiimprovements, tions, and for this purpose, must go through the formalities prepatent, tax, &c. scribed in Art. 5, 6, and 7. These alterations, improvements, or

on original

additions, must be verified by certificates, delivered in the same form as the original patent, and will have the same effect, from the

date of the demands or petitions, as the original patent, with which they will expire. A tax or fee of 20 fr. shall be paid for each certificate of addition. All the assignees of a patent shall be beneficially interested in any certificates of addition, obtained by any one of them.

provement.

ART. 17,-Any patentee who, for any alteration, improvement, For a new or addition, would wish to obtain a new patent for five, ten, or fif- patent of imteen years, instead of a certificate of addition, expiring with the original patent, must comply with the formalities prescribed in Art. 5, 6, and 7, and pay the tax mentioned in Art. 4.

patentee

tion or im

ART. 18.-None other than the patentee or his assignees, acting When other as above mentioned; can, for the space of one year, legally obtain than the a patent for any alteration, improvement, or addition to the subject makes an apof the original patent, Nevertheless, any person wishing to obtain plication for a a patent for any alteration, addition, or improvement upon a patent of addipatented invention, may, in the course of the year, draw and up present a petition, which will be transmitted to and remain under provement. seal with the Minister of Agriculture and Commerce. At the expiration of the year, the seal will be broken, and the patent granted. The preference will, nevertheless be given to any alterations, improvements, or additions for which the patentee himself may, in the course of the year, solicit a certificate of addition, or a patent.

patentees.

ART. 19. Any person taking a patent for any discovery, inven- Of the rights tion, or application, which may interfere with the subject of another of conflicting patent, shall not be allowed to work the invention already patented; and, on the other hand, the proprietor of the original patent cannot use the invention forming the subject of the subsequent patent.

SECTION 4.-On the Transfer and Assignment of Patents.

and conditions

ART. 20.-A patentee may assign the whole or any part of his Assignments, patent. The transfer of the whole or part of a patent, either for how made, à consideration, or not, can only be effected by a notarial deed, to be observed and on payment of the whole of the duty determined by Art. 4. No transfer will be valid, as regards a third party, until it is enrolled at the office of the Secretary of the Prefecture, in the department in which the deed was executed. The enrolment of transfers, and all other deeds connected with any change in the proprietorship of the patent right, will be effected on the production and deposit of an authentic extract from the deed of transfer. A copy of each certificate of enrolment, accompanied by the above-mentioned extract from the deed, will be transmitted by the Prefect to the Minister of Agriculture and Commerce, within five days from the date of the certificate.

ART. 21.-A register shall be kept at the office of the Minister Register and of Agriculture and Commerce, on which shall be inscribed the dif- enrolment of

transfers.

Rights of Assignees.

Public to have

ings, models,

ferent transfers which may be made of each patent; and every three months all the transfers enrolled shall be published by royal order, as prescribed in Art. 14.

ART. 22. The assignees of a patent, and those who may have received from the patentee, or such as are empowered by him, the right of using the invention or discovery, shall have the full benefit of any certificates of addition which may be subsequently granted to the patentee or those empowered by him. On the other hand, the patentee or his licensees shall have the full benefit of any certificates of addition which may be subsequently granted to the assignees. Any persons having a right to profit by the certificates of addition, may obtain a copy thereof, on paying a fee of 20 fr.

SECTION 5.-On the Inspection and Publication of the Descriptions and Drawings of Patents.

ART. 23. The descriptions, drawings, specimens, and models the inspection of patents granted, will remain, until the expiration of the patent of the draw right, deposited at the office of the Minister of Agriculture and &c., and copies Commerce, where they will be open for inspection, free of expense. under regula- Any person may, at his own cost, obtain a copy of the said description of Art 30. tions and drawings, according to the forms which shall be determined by the regulations that will be established under the authority of Art. 50.

Patents and annual lists published.

ART. 24. After payment of the second annuity, the descriptions and drawings will be published, either wholly, or in part.There will also be published, at the commencement of each year, a catalogue, containing the titles of all patents granted in the course of the preceding year.

Descriptions ART. 25.-All descriptions and drawings, as well as the cataand drawings logue mentioned in the preceding article, will be deposited at the open to inspec- offices of the Minister of Agriculture and Commerce, and the Secretary of the Prefecture of each department, where they may be inspected, free of expense.

tion free of

expense.

Of expired patents.

ART. 26. On the expiration of the patents, the original descriptions and drawings shall be deposited in the Royal Conservatory of Arts and Trades.

Of Foreigers, same formalities required.

CHAPTER III.

ON THE RIGHTS OF FOREIGNERS.

ART 27.-Foreigners may obtain patents for inventions in France.

ART 28.-The formalities and conditions determined by the