Filed by businesses or laboratories, patents are an illustration of the great vivacity of research and innovation. However, lack of knowledge or the complexity of associated procedures often hinder their impetus. The creation of a Caen-based INPI office last year could well boost the number of patent applications filed, hence encouraging the positive development of research and innovation efforts.

“Patent application? Guaranteed security! | The efficiency of the INPI’s different industrial property titles | Granville High school pupils discover industrial property | Free prediagnosis | What you need to know

“Patent application? Guaranteed security!
The project is both innovative and ambitious. And in order to protect it, a patent application has already been filed. Indispensable according to its inventor. The future company is still accommodated by Normandie Incubation, Rue Claude Bloch in Caen. And although it hasn’t yet decided on a company name, it is already working on a project: the integration and optimisation of wind turbines in urban areas. “it’s a totally new approach to wind turbines, a technological rupture,” smiles Pierre Lecanu, the project’s inventor and perfectly acquainted with INPI applications. However, at this stage, that’s all he’s willing to tell us. And, of course, in order to protect his project, a patent application has been filed. Extending the project across Europe is also currently under study. “It will offer us security and avoid serious disappointments. If we’re plagiarised, our project will no longer be of any worth.
And we’re dealing with major and promising markets.” Alongside Pierre Lecanu, a genuine team is developing: Jean-Christophe Frydlender (lecturer-researcher at Caen University’s IUP (Professional University Institute) of Social and Health Management, an IAE department), Dominique Sutra Del Galy (Sogeti Ingénierie), Jacques Gandemer (Aérodynamique Eiffel) and a further lecturer-researcher. “Filing a patent application is a way of keeping your project under lock and key,” highlights Jean-Christophe Frydlender. Their invention should shortly be materialised. The time has come for a public presentation, due in March. Jean-Christophe Frydlender
E-mail: jean-christophe.frydlender@unicaen.fr
Tel: 06 67 44 59 39

The efficiency of the INPI’s different industrial property titles
• Soleau envelope: the Soleau envelope dates but does not protect. It is a simple and affordable way of providing proof. It offers the opportunity to constitute proof of creation and to assign a specific date to the advent of an idea or a project. However, it is not an industrial property title and consequently provides no direct protection.
• Patent: a patent protects technical innovation but not ideas. With regard to industrial property, it protects a technical innovation, i.e. a product or process offering a new technical solution to a given technical problem. Consequently, an idea cannot be protected by means of a patent. In France, by filing a patent application at the INPI, the claimant may be granted exclusive exploitation of his/her invention for a maximum period of 20 years. The value of the associated company is therefore augmented.
• Trademark: a trademark distinguishes products and services. It is a “sign” aimed at precisely distinguishing your products or services from those of your competitors. Trademarks require to be graphically represented by means of a word, a name, a slogan, a drawing, a logo… they are an essential ingredient of your industrial and marketing strategy. By filing a trademark at the INPI, exclusivity is awarded on French soil for an indefinitely renewable period of 10 years.
• Drawing or model: A drawing or model guarantees the efficient protection of the product you have created. With regard to industrial property, the appearance of a product is materialised in the form of two-dimensional graphic features (i.e. drawings) or three-dimensional graphic features (i.e. models). They are of capital importance for your company. Exclusivity to exploit drawings and models on French soil is granted for a minimum period of 5 years (maximum: 25 years).

Granville High school pupils discover industrial property
The Lycée Julliot de la Morandière, located in Manche, has developed a unique measurement system for 50 hp boat motors And a professional magazine was quick to seize the event. A winning bet. “Exclusive. The truth about 50 hp motors” ! On the front page of “Hors Bord Magazine’s” September 2008 issue, the headline “Spécial comparatif” cuts a fine figure. In a 16-page article, the first motor bench test reviews six motors produced by the market’s leading manufacturers. The article’s particularity: the test was created and developed by pupils studying for the boat maintenance option at the Lycée Julliot de la Morandière in Granville, with help from BTS (Technical Diploma) in Electrical Engineering students. “Generally, manufacturers test their motors themselves, but with limited objectivity.
Our idea was to develop a measurement system capable of controlling everyone in the same manner,” explains Frank Moine, a teacher from the school’s Section bateau (boat maintenance option) and in charge of the project. Following several years of contemplation and dialogue with the magazine, and one year to technically perfect their product, tests were then launched in the summer of 2008 within the school’s own premises. “The entire system needed to be computerised in order to obtain an identical measurement protocol for each motor,” the teacher proudly adds. And the operation, which was conducted in the presence of independent legal observers, was a success. The magazine, along with the school, were present at the recent nautical fair where they were offered an opportunity to reveal their first conclusive results. “The idea is to conduct an annual comparison,” notes Christian Dubosc, one of the school’s tutors.
And the necessary measures have also been taken with regard to protection. In a partnership agreement concluded with the magazine, an article stipulates that the school reserves the exclusive industrial property for the conducted tests and procedures, the test bench remaining the school’s property. As for patent application procedures, they are now well underway. “It’s a first for the nautical press. To ensure the project’s protection, we have filed a Soleau envelope including our methodology,” highlights Dominique Salandre, the magazine’s editor in chief.
Franck Moine - Teacher in the school’s “Section bateau” (boat maintenance section) Tel: 06 82 33 74 45 -
Christian Dubosc - Tutor - Tel: 02 33 90 74 77 -

Free prediagnosis
An agreement signed on the 15th of December 2008 in Caen should promote industrial property among the region’s SMEs and laboratories. The aim: to encourage the utilisation of industrial property throughout Lower Normandy and to heighten awareness on the stakes involved among its businesses and research laboratories. The agreement, signed late 2008, involves a number of proactive commitments: The organisation of one-day informative events, the development of collective training and coaching efforts, the elaboration of industrial property prediagnosis (1). “This partnership, within the framework of the SRDE (Regional Economic Development Plan), aims at facilitating the development and utilisation of innovation and research efforts, and at promoting the competitiveness of regional players by taking full advantage of industrial property opportunities,” highlights Laurent Beauvais, President of the Lower Normandy Regional Council. “The proposed prediagnosis targets the region’s innovative SMEs or research laboratories who are as yet unfamiliar with industrial property,” explains Pascal Duyck, in charge of the INPI’s regional action department. Equally funded by the INPI and the Regional Council, 35 of such prediagnoses (with the added advantage of being free of charge) are due to be conducted throughout the two-year duration of the agreement.
An opportunity not to be missed! (1) Prediagnosis enables the industrial property stakes to be identified for each company, based on an internal assessment.
Prediagnosis costs 1,500 Euros.
However, thanks to the recently signed agreement, it is offered free of charge.

What you need to know
- The definition of industrial property: Industrial property (IP), along with literary and artistic property, is a branch of intellectual property. Thanks to IP, you can protect your technical or ornamental creations (patents, drawings and models) and the signs used to identify your products and services (trademarks) for a given period of time.
- To find an existing patent :Launched by the INPI, in partnership with the European Patent Office (EPO), FREsp@cenet provides access to bibliographical references in French and to original documents (full text) Some 3.5 million patents are accessible.Websites: www.inpi.fr or: http://fr.espacenet.com
- Key regional figures : In 2006, the INPI received, for Lower Normandy alone:
• 605 trademark applications
• 133 drawings and models
• 83 patent applications (this figure concerns patents published by region, according to the inventor’s place of residence)
- In 2007, total PI titles filed for Lower Normandy:
• 694 trademarks (1)
• 128 drawings and models (2)
• 180 patents (3)
(1) Trademarks filed in 2007 according to the place of the depositor’s residence (Sources: OPI/Plutarque).
(2) Ordinary publications of drawings and models according to the depositor’s geographical department. (Sources: OPI/Base Modelis).
(3) Patent applications published nationally in 2007 according to the place of residence of their inventors.
(Source: Observatoire de la propriété intellectuelle - OPI - Intellectual Property Observatory). - So, what does the future hold? On the 22nd of January 2009, the head of State announced the implementation of an SNRI (National Strategy for Research and Innovation) aimed at boosting both activities across the nation. The current joint patent proprietorship system is to be simplified. The associated methodology should be adopted by the Council of Ministers next May. It will highlight the objectives the programme hopes to achieve over the next four years. (Source: « Les Echos » 22nd January 2009 issue)

Open since April 2008, but officially inaugurated last December, Caen’s brand new INPI (National Industrial Property Institute) is far from idle. In charge of the new structure, Céline Couroux single-handedly travels the region’s three departments, visits businesses and laboratories, answers the telephone, develops training courses… “It’s the INPI’s mission to welcome and accompany projects in the field of industrial property,” highlights the manager of its Lower Normandy office. “This new structure is the link that was hitherto missing in the region’s chain of associated tools. And I’m delighted that the gap has now been filled, hence adding a new member to the INPI’s list of French offices,” Laurent Beauvais, President of the Lower Normandy Regional Council, is proud to announce. By setting up a new office in Caen, within the premises of the DRIRE, the INPI has clearly asserted its desire to get closer to the region’s players in the field of innovation and to offer them its technical expertise.

“Industrial property is a key ingredient in innovation. And although major groups are keen consumers, SMEs are as yet to take full advantage, despite the fact that they are mainspring of economic growth. Only 1,500 of them file patent applications. They claim that the process is both complicated and costly. we are working on both aspects in an attempt to change their perception of the system,” explains Pascal Duyck, in charge of the INPI’s regional action department ⁽¹⁾. Awaiting the advent of simplified measures, prediagnosis can be developed free of charge. “The regional office will offer protection for Lower Normandy’s inventors and inventions. Innovation is the driving force of economic growth and employment,” concurrently notes the Regional Préfet, Christian Leyrit.

And the word is already out among the region’s laboratories.

Since last April, the local office has registered over 150 requests for appointments. “I also work in partnership with, and in a complementary to, the region’s existing players,” explains Céline Couroux. Over and above the INPI’s key mission (to register patents, trademarks, plans and models), the office also aims at providing useful information on industrial property and patent rights. And work is abundant. “Educating is a matter of repetition. Industrial property is a complex matter, involving contractual aspects which can prove difficult to grasp,” acknowledges the structure’s manager.

And the word is already out among the region’s laboratories. On the 14th of November, a one-day event aimed at informing professionals, and entitled “la propriété intellectuelle au service de la recherche” (industrial property to serve research) was organised by Caen University’s SAIC (Industrial and Commercial Activities Service), in partnership with ENSICAEN, the GANIL and CYCERON, and together with the INPI and Normandie Incubation. The event targeted researchers, engineers and technicians involved in research. “Industrial property is gradually becoming an integral part of our research teams’ culture and they regularly approach us for advice on specific projects. We inform them on a permanent basis, highlights the SAIC’s legal specialist, Nicolas Craipeau. Our mission involves developing partnership agreements with businesses. The Service also takes care to protect the University and researchers’ best interests.“

Heightening researcher awareness before drafting contract

In major structures, striving to protect and develop requires a long-term effort. “Whereas our regulatory bodies (CEA and CNRS) file the actual applications, we constantly endeavour to increase awareness among our researchers. By developing our research work, we look to offering the region’s economic fabric a return on its investment,” adds Bruno Piquet, in charge of development at GANIL (CEA-CNRS laboratory). On the same campus, the GIP (Public Interest Group) Cyceron, Caen’s biomedical imaging platform, is also active in optimising research development. “Industrial property policy aims at protecting and industrialising the results of the research we conduct,” explains Hélène Lemercier, the aforementioned structure’s development manager. Involved from the very beginnings of each of its structure’s research projects, the GIP conducts analysis, along with project coordinators, to identify the potential development opportunities for each expected research result. The aim is to detect technology transfer projects offering genuine prospects for the development and utilisation of the results obtained by researchers. The same applies at ENSICAEN, where the school’s DRI (Industrial Relations Department) is constantly on the lookout. “We guarantee that the rules and regulations pertaining to industrial property and patents are abided by. Duly informing our researchers before contracts are drafted is essential,” stresses Guillaume Boitier, manager of the DRI.

On the 6th of January, via a partnership agreement aimed at finally providing a concerted effort, the GIP Cyceron, the GANIL, Caen University and ENSICAEN have decided to pool part of their resources together in order to help innovative projects to mature and research to be optimally developed and exploited. A foundation stone

From the standpoint of businesses, those with ongoing applications are convinced that they have made the right choices. “Our own aim is to secure a certain number of the company’s assets. Patents are a valuable ingredient in business development. It is important to remember that protection is also a growth factor, likely to generate volume. If the business project is genuinely innovative, it is sure to offer a competitive advantage,” believes Jacques Morin, Chairman of Vans Théault in Avranches and a longstanding and firm believer in the relevance of such protection. It’s now up to the INPI to convince his counterparts.

(1) The INPI is a public body supervised by the French Ministry of Finance, Industry and Employment, and actively participating in the development of public policy in the field of industrial property and the fight against patent infringement and counterfeiting. Every year, it deals with around 17,000 patent applications, 70,000 trademark applications and receives around 70,000 plans and models.

Céline Couroux
In charge of the INPI’s Lower Normandy office (located within the premises of the DRIRE, with the CITIS business estate in Hérouville-Saint-Clair)
Tel: 0 820 213 213
Website: INPI

Bruno Piquet
Development Manager at GANIL
Tél. : 02 31 45 46 89
Site : GANIL

Nicolas Craipeau
Legal specialist at Caen University’s SAIC (Industrial and Commercial Activities Service)
Tél. : 02 31 56 60 77
Site : SAIC de l’Université de Caen Basse-Normandie

Guillaume Boitier
Director of ENSICAEN’s Industrial Relations Department
Tél. : 02 31 53 81 64
Site : Ensicaen

Hélène Lemercier
Development Manager at the GIP Cyceron
Tél. : 02 31 47 01 35
Site : Cyceron

Jacques Morin
Chairman of Vans Théault
Tél. : 02 33 89 22 22
Site : Theault

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