Section 1: Submission of applications

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Article R612-24

French Intellectual Property CodeIn force
Ask for lawyer reviewed or certified translation

Updated 7 Nov 2023

The declaration of priority provided for in 1 of Article L. 612-7 shall include the date of the earlier filing, the State in or for which it was made, and the number assigned to it.

The declaration of priority must be made when the patent application is filed or within sixteen months of the earliest priority date claimed.

The declaration of priority claimed in the context of a patent application filed in the form of a provisional application shall be deemed to be a request for compliance or, where expressly indicated by the declarant, a request for conversion into a utility certificate application, pursuant to the first paragraph of Article R. 612-3-2.

The applicant may correct the declaration of priority within a period of sixteen months from the earliest priority date or, where the correction results in a change to the earliest priority date, within a period of sixteen months from the earliest corrected priority date, whichever sixteen-month period expires first to be applied, provided that the correction may be requested until the expiry of a period of four months from the filing date assigned to the patent application.

However, a declaration of priority may not be made or corrected after a request has been made under 1° of Article L. 612-21.

In accordance with Article L. 612-7(1), in order to prove the existence of the earlier application, the applicant must produce a copy thereof before the expiry of the sixteenth month following the priority date, accompanied, where applicable, by the authorisation to claim priority given in writing by the owner of the earlier application.

If the provisions of the preceding paragraphs are not complied with, the claim to the right of priority shall be declared inadmissible.

If the earlier filing date indicated precedes the filing date of the patent application by more than one year, the applicant shall be notified that there is no right of priority, unless within the period referred to in the second and fourth paragraphs he indicates a corrected date which is within the priority period or submits an appeal for restoration in accordance with Article L. 612-16-1.

The indications contained in the declaration of priority are mentioned in the published patent application and carried on the patent specification.

Mariela Petrova

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A notary (notaire) is a public officer who authenticates specific deeds (mainly real-estate transfers and certain family-law acts). A corporate lawyer (avocat) advises on strategy, negotiates and drafts company documents, and represents you in disputes. The two roles complement rather than overlap.

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Mariela Petrova

Mariela Petrova

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15+ Years In Corporate Practice

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Communications protected by professional secrecy — secret professionnel de l'avocat, Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971.

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