3. Researching innovation and understanding the environment: some useful information

The field of intellectual property is vast. We will limit our presentation here to provide you with the main points.

When a patent is not extended to another country (for WO, PCT and EP patents, extension is automatic in designated countries), it can be used in countries not covered. There are also regional systems enabling automatic extension to a number of countries, such as OAPI (global patent system for French-speaking African countries), ARIPO (for English-speaking African countries) or OEAB (Eurasian patent system).

Beware of the 12-month period during which extension is possible. Filing a patent in France, without extension, discloses the invention but protects it only in France.

Utility certificates or utility models provide protection for a shorter period (6 to 10 years, depending on the country). In some...