French Intellectual Property Code
In forceThe conversion of the European patent application into a French patent application takes place as soon as the Institut national de la propriété industrielle receives the request. It is assigned a national registration number.
Subject to the provisions of
articles L. 614-4 and L. 614-5, notice of the conversion shall be published in the Bulletin officiel de la propriété industrielle within one month of receipt of the request. The mention shall include the indications necessary for the identification of the patent application.
Within two months from the date of the publication referred to in the preceding paragraph or, in the case of patent applications which cannot be made public, from the date of receipt of the request for conversion, the applicant must provide proof of payment of the fees provided for in Article R. 614-17 and, where applicable, the French translation of the original text of the European patent application, as well as, where applicable, the text amended during the proceedings before the European Patent Office.
The procedure for granting the patent shall be conducted on the basis of the original text of the patent application or its translation or, where applicable, the text amended during the proceedings before the European Patent Office or its translation.
If the applicant does not have his domicile or registered office in a Member State of the European Community or in a State party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, he must, within the same time limit, appoint a representative satisfying the conditions laid down in the first paragraph of
Article R. 612-2and communicate the name and address of the latter to the Institut national de la propriété industrielle.
