10 January 2012 - Introduction to industrial property law and presentation of the various industrial property deeds

Different industrial property laws
National regulations on industrial property and main international agreements in the field.
Protection of technical creations: different deeds to protect an invention, the royalties system.

11 January 2012 - The patentability field
The notion of invention and its industrial character
Exclusion of the patentability of principles and methods (commercial methods, information presentations, computer programmes, surgical or therapeutic treatment methods, etc…).
Patentability of living things (exclusion of the human body, the patentability of total or partial gene sequences, animal species).

12 January 2012 - Innovative and inventive activity
The requirement for absolute innovation
Documented history (search for past history, interpretation of past history, etc…)
Divulging
The notion of inventive activity. Assessment of an inventive activity (the man of the trade, inventive activity indices, the theory of equivalents).

31 January 2012 - Obtaining a patent in France
Filing an application (preparation, filing formalities, INPI control, registration)
Examination and publication of an application (creation of a search report)
Issuance of a patent.

01 February 2012 - Obtaining a patent : the PCT
Introduction to the PCT system; PCT chronology
Filing an international application
International research and prior international examination
The main advantages of the PCT for filing parties
The PCT as a strategic instrument for the filing of patent applications abroad.

02 February 2012 - Obtaining a patent in Europe
The European Patent Convention (EPC)
The European Patent Office (UPO)
The procedure for obtaining a European patent (submission formalities, research report, patentability examination)
Issuance of a European patent and the opposition procedure
The Community Patent Project.

21 March 2012 (A.M.) - Holder of a monopoly
The rights of the first filing party and its corrections (the right to prior personal possession)
Claim suits
Joint ownership of patents (legal and contractual organisations)
Research contracts
Sub-contracting and industrial property

21 March 2012 (P.M.) - Employees’ inventions
The scope of the employee invention regime
Mission operations (notion, compensation)
Inventions outside allocated missions
Non-contentious and contentious application of the employee convention regime.

22 March 2012 - The influence of monopoly and attacks on monopoly
The field of protection according to the type of patent (product, process, application)
Interpretation of claims
Language of the patent
Material elements
Moral elements and the counterfeit act
Expiry of rights.

03 April 2012 (A.M.) - Protection strategy
Choosing the protection of an invention (patent or secret)
Protection strategy in France and abroad
Choice of procedures

03 April 2012 (P.M.) - Taxation of Industrial Property

The US patent : conditions for obtaining a patent in the US
The procedure before the US PTO
The scope of the American patent
Defending your rights in the US

12 June 2012 - Acquiring a trademark
Choice of trademark: possible signs, valid signs, available signs
Conditions associated with the acquisition of trademarks in France and abroad (national, international and Community filing)
Maintaining right over trademarks in France and abroad.

13 June 2012 - The rights conferred upon a holder by a trademark
The prerogatives of the trademark owner: preventing a third party from using an identical or similar sign
Use in business life
The functions of a brand
Reproduction of a trademark or brand.

14 June 2012 (A.M.) - Regime and protection of domain names
Conflicts between protected distinctive signs and domain names
Recourse and procedures.

14 June 2012 (P.M.) - Protection of designs and patterns
The protection of ornamental creations by copyright and filing of designs and patterns
Accumulating protection (the theory of the uniqueness of art)
The subject of protection, the owner of the rights
Acquisition of protection in France and abroad

19 September 2012 - The operating contract regime
The operating contract for industrial property rights: sale, licence, communication of know-how
Configuration of the contract
Obligations resulting from the contract
Execution of the contract.

20 September 2012 (A.M.) - The impact of competition law
The notion of competition law: French law and Community law on the subject of competition
The main application of law covering agreements on industrial property conventions
Rules concerning exemption on technology transfer agreements
Industrial property rights and prohibition on the exploitation of a dominant position.

17 October 2012 - Counterfeit action
Seeking out counterfeits: the involvement of the customs authorities (involvement of the judge), suing the counterfeiter: the counterfeit suit regime (capacity to act, judicial competence, proof, seizure of counterfeit goods)
Sanctions on counterfeiting: provisional measures, definitive measures (civil and criminal punishment).

18 October 2012 - Strategy for defending rights in Europe
Judicial competence, interfacing procedures
The protection of a unique deed (community brand, community design or pattern)
Counterfeiting patents at European level: the current regime and work in progress.

14 November 2012 - The protection of software and IT creations
Contracts concerning software and IT creations.