Hello @ all and @ all.
I sometimes ask myself this question when ideas cross my head.
What advice would you give to someone who has a project that they think deserves a patent?
The process to get there, the costs, the prerequisites, the obstacles, the prohibitiveness, the risks, the constraints, the advantages, the benefits, the obligations, the deadlines... I'm interested in everything you know about it, and probably a lot of other people, so it would be great if you could share it.
Thank you!
Hello Sylk,
To answer your question, here is a link on what you are looking for.
https://www.economie.gouv.fr/entreprises/depot-brevet-inpi
Good luck.
@+.
AR
Thank you @A.R
After all, what is also interesting are your experiences, your feedback, your disappointments, your struggles, your satisfactions, ... Pitfalls to avoid... A little bit of everything that is not visible on the brochure.
Hello again Sylk,
Indeed it takes a lot of time on the administrative side.
Then to explain the function of the product, you don't have to go into detail, do it in the form of a crobard simplifying the operation. That's it at the technical level.
Good luck.
@+.
AR
Hi @Sylk
The simplest and most economical way to start is a Soleau envelope that will already prove the anteriority of your invention. Then in my company we go through a specialized firm for the drafting of patents because it is quite complex, you have to use generic terms, try to cover as many fields of application as possible, etc.
You must be accompanied by an industrial lawyer.
It's time-consuming, expensive and it doesn't cover everything geographically.
If your invention may be of interest to industrialists, turn to them and see to what extent they could participate in this patent application, with a good confidentiality agreement.
A trick to cover your intellectual property and to send you a descriptive file by registered mail and never open this registered letter, it's the same principle as a solo envelope.
It allows you to keep the production rights on the invention even if others register the idea afterwards and exploit it.
In any case, you must be advised, accompanied by a lawyer.
Hi @Sylk
The INPI website is very explicit about what to do or not, I am not going to add more.
On the other hand, try to see if there is no prior art, near or far, and that's not a piece of cake, depending on the invention.
Regarding the SOLEAU envelope, it will not replace a patent. If someone files a patent it will only allow you to exploit your invention on your own account: but you will not be able to issue a license to anyone (see note in @stephd ).
From my point of view, first you have to get to work on the POC ( The acronym POC refers to the term proof of concept. In French, we speak of proof of concept PDC )
On another technology forum where I spent a lot of time I regularly saw inventions that didn't hold up after a simple analysis of a few hours.
In other words: you must have a functional prototype that must be able to withstand a minimum of crash tests.
In the whole phase of the CVP, you just have to say nothing to anyone. For example, at the moment I'm working on a very important project and to make the plans and the parts, you just have to pipe the names of the parts. Example: project = Serger with cutting and tetradral stitching while the project is a pumpkin pitter (curcubita maxima).
What I do is that each subset has a different project name (with abstruse part names having no relation between each sub-ASM).
For subcontractors, I give the parts to several different subcontractors who have no link with each other a priori (the four corners of Europe are not bad from this point of view)
Above all, I don't give any sub-assembly to a subcontractor (except for what is welding or special machining after partial assembly).
In other words, we have to put it in paranoid and "smoker" mode.
After that, either you do it on your own (and here the pipework method is enough) or you work in discreet startup mode (less than five people).
And there you must have a co-signed common document accompanied by identity documents, photos of your partners and photos in situation on the prototype and common validation documents of each step.
There are other things to do from a company point of view to preserve the subsequent entry of financial partners without losing control of your company.
Once you have your solid PDC you can find financial partners in underwater mode. You can show the invention in operation with precautions worthy of the best spy movies. The INPI's recommendations are a bit insufficient for my taste.
Once you have a minimum financial base, then and only from then on do you call on an industrial property firm.
Why only at this time?
Prior art research is very complicated and expensive.
The editorial staff (already mentioned)
Then when you are at the technical and administrative examination phase, and the patent filing is published in the BOPI, you must be able to defend your patent. Because from there or a little before your patent and visible to everyone (the monitoring software of firms and large companies is quite effective).
From there, you need to have the financial means to be able to defend your patent through your IP firm.
So in summary, already be certain that it is an invention that is preferably a breakthrough.
That's it to fuel the conversation 
Well, he's Ricard and quarter, I'll let you meditate on the solitude of the patella-like snatch clinging to its rock beaten by the waves.
Stone