The Soleau envelope (french: Enveloppe Soleau, link=no), named after its French inventor, , is a sealed envelope serving as proof of priority for inventions valid in France, exclusively to precisely ascertain the date of an invention, idea or creation of a work. It can be applied for at the
French National Institute of Industrial Property (). The working principles were defined in the ruling of May 9, 1986, published in the
official gazette
A government gazette (also known as an official gazette, official journal, official newspaper, official monitor or official bulletin) is a periodical publication that has been authorised to publish public or legal notices. It is usually establis ...
of June 6, 1986 (''
Journal officiel de la République française
A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to:
*Bullet journal, a method of personal organization
* Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period
*Daybook, also known as a general journal, ...
'' or JORF), although the institution of the Soleau envelope dates back to 1915.
[, footnote 118: "On the French law and the institution of the Soleau envelope, see Prop. Ind. (1915), pp. 103 ff.]
The envelope has two compartments which must each contain the identical version of the element for which registration is sought.
[ INPI web site]
User's guide to the ''enveloppe Soleau''
The INPI laser-marks some parts of the envelope for the sake of delivery date authentication and sends one of the compartments back to the original depositary who submitted the envelope.
The originator must keep their part of the envelope sealed except in case of litigation.
The deposit can be made at the INPI, by airmail, or at the INPI's regional subsidiaries.
The envelope is kept for a period of five years, and the term can be renewed once.
[ INPI web site]
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The envelope may not contain any hard element such as cardboard, rubber, computer disks, leather, staples, or pins. Each compartment can only contain up to seven A4-size paper sheets, with a maximum of thickness. If the envelope is deemed inadmissible, it is sent back to the depositary at their own expense.patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...
or utility model
A utility model is a patent-like intellectual property right to protect inventions. This type of right is available in many countries but, notably, not in the United States, United Kingdom or Canada. Although a utility model is similar to a patent ...
, the depositor has no exclusivity right over the claimed element. The Soleau envelope, as compared to a later patent, only allows use of the technique, rather than ownership, and multiple people might submit envelopes to support separate similar use, before a patent is later granted to restrict application.
See also
*Poor man's copyright Poor man's copyright is a method of using registered dating by the postal service, a notary public or other highly trusted source to date intellectual property, thereby helping to establish that the material has been in one's possession since a par ...
Reference list
External links
The envelope Soleau on the French IP institute website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soleau Envelope
Envelopes
French intellectual property law