I poorly explained the "strategy".
Firstly, with regard to the Soleau envelope, or the registered letter sent to yourself, it certainly allows to prove anteriority but not to prevent a third party from filing a patent. At most, this can allow the invention to be produced and sold on a personal basis even if a third party has filed a patent.
Note that for registered mail, the document itself must be used to make the envelope so that the postmark is printed on the document, and again, we can always object that we sent a white sheet on which we printed after receipt! ... So not so simple. It also seems that the registered mail service has considered this scenario because an option seems to provide proof of the contents of the recommended. It's here :
Recommended evidence To check. I'm going to ask them to be sure.
I return to the situation which I explain above to clarify it:
Mr Eureka, a private individual, invents an innovative process but does not have the financial means to file a patent or to exploit his invention commercially. On the other hand, his invention interests a company and an investor who propose to finance the filing of the patent and to define% of co-ownership on the patent.
So far all is well, but nothing really protects Mr Eurêka against the company and / or the investor if the latter decided to get rid of him, even if Mr Eurêka was the owner of a Soleau envelope ... In short, Mr Eureka therefore has every interest in protecting his rear.
To use the 2 possibilities mentioned to protect yourself:
- he sells a copy or the plans of his invention to a trusted third party who will keep them in a corner (Chatelot's suggestion),
ou
- he publishes the details of his invention on a web page and has this publication made public by a bailiff, then immediately withdraws the web page.
In both cases, he holds proof that his invention has been made public, which would allow him, by producing this evidence, to invalidate any patent on his invention filed without his knowledge.
It's a bit crooked but legally it holds water!
In short, Mr Euréka continues his partnership with the company and / or the investor to exploit the patent according to the% of co-ownership on the patent.
2 cases then arise:
1) everyone has respected their commitments, the patent is successfully exploited, and Mr Eureka does not need to take out his proofs. Everything is for the best in the best of all possible worlds and Mr Eureka enjoys happy days sipping a cold beer by the pool of his new property in the Bahamas ...
2) Mr Eureka realizes (too late) that the company and / or the investor to whom he gave his plans and explained everything in details did not tell him everything and sought to divert the patent for their sole benefit .
Note that in the chain of patent filing, between the design office which makes the plans, the workshop which manufactures the prototype, the company which is interested, the investor which finances and the cabinet which establishes the file of deposit patent, that makes a lot of people who may be tempted to hijack the invention and try to exploit it on the sly. The INPI recommends that each person involved in knowing the details of the invention sign a confidentiality document. In practice, this is impossible for an individual, and nothing prevents someone who is aware of the invention from talking about it to a third party who can testify on his behalf.
In short, Mr Eureka was bitten by his idea but he still has the possibility of taking out his proofs canceling the patent to go and negotiate with the fraudulent owner of the patent.
In case of refusal, with the production of proofs, all the investments made for the filing of the fraudulent patent would be lost, and what is more, the patent could be exploited by all competitors, which may cause you to think!
What do you think ?
(Okay, there is a flaw in this strategy, but I'm not telling you where
)
Finally, a little story I heard about an inventor who gouged his patent which illustrates the dangers. This is also the inventor himself recounted his misadventure with humor.
Mr X is technician lifts and invented a system to a broken elevator is automatically set in front of the nearest exit. The invention is simple, economical and remove all lifts incidents where people were trapped for hours or even whole weekend.
Several patent purchase offers made to him by professionals but a big company offered him the deal of the century: she buys him all rights to his patent against payment of a significant% of the amount of all facilities that they will do with its system. The company is the market leader, calculations and supporting figures, expected earnings were $ in millions, and even counsel for the inventor did not see the scam.
At the end of the sales meeting, as soon as the contract is signed, the inventor no longer owns his invention, the new owner takes patent and puts it in the trash, explaining that breakdowns and people stuck in elevators especially on weekends, represented for them a very profitable business they wanted to continue to use! ...
The contract specified the payment of a% on systems with anti failed system ... The system was never installed!
