Confidentiality Examination in French Patent Applications

Under the French Intellectual Property Code, the Ministry of Defence has the right to review any patent application filed with the French Patent Office. Applicants filing first-time French/European/PCT patent applications cannot disclose or work the invention until they have obtained authorization from the Ministry of Defence through the French Patent Office. This review process typically takes one to two months after filing.

France has established rules for inventions that are “sensitive” or “allegedly sensitive” and “may be of interest to French defense,” requiring inventors and applicants to comply with requests from French defense authorities to avoid the disclosure of their information.

The French Ministry of Defense has published a guide listing technologies that may be of interest to French defense. Some technologies may be dual-use, possessing both civilian and military applications. In such cases, even if the inventor/applicant is aware of only civilian applications for the invention, they must carefully consider whether the invention may also have military applications. Any invention application involving a French applicant and intended as a European patent application or PCT application, which does not claim priority from a French patent application, must be processed by the INPI as the receiving office.

If your first application is not filed as a European patent application or PCT application, you can obtain permission to apply overseas by disclosing the invention, the applicant and inventor, and the country in which you intend to file your first application to the French Ministry of Defence. The French Patent Office's authorising officer will examine the application and decide within the next two weeks whether to authorise the overseas application. If you are applying for a European patent application or PCT application, the INPI must be the receiving Office.

In principle, only inventions involving French applicants that are "likely to be of interest to French defense," "sensitive," or "allegedly sensitive" require permission for overseas applications. However, Article L615-13 of the French Intellectual Property Law also provides for sanctions for non-compliance with this provision. If it is uncertain whether a patent application involves sensitive technology, permission should be sought from the French defense authorities.