What rights does a patent confer?

A patent is an industrial property title issued by the Director of the Institut National de la Propriété Industrielle (INPI).

A company's true intangible asset, a patent confers on its holder an operating monopoly on the patented invention for a maximum period of 20 years (possibly extendable via a supplementary protection certificate, SPC, for patents relating to the active ingredient of a medicine or a plant protection product).

Irrespective of the economic value it represents, a patent enables its owner to protect his innovations, stand out from the competition, generate income and take action against potential infringers.

This sheet aims to :

• define the scope of the protection afforded by the grant of a patent ;

• clarify the rights conferred by the operating monopoly ;

• identify the acts which the patent owner may prohibit and those which he may not oppose.