Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, 1883

An Indian entrepreneur files a patent in Mumbai on 1 March. On 15 March a rival in another country reads about the idea and files first there. Who wins if the Indian inventor then applies abroad in June? Without a treaty, the inventor may lose, because the invention is no longer new. The Paris Convention of 1883 solves this by letting the inventor claim the March date in other member countries, and it does much more besides.

In two minutes

The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, 1883, obliges member states to give foreign nationals national treatment, a right of priority (twelve months for patents, six for designs and marks), independence of patents and marks from those abroad, and a base of protection against unfair competition.

The rest of this chapter

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