Legal Definitions - Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property

The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property is a treaty that was created to make it easier for people to apply for patents and trademarks in different countries. It was first signed in 1883 and has been updated several times since then. The Convention is now managed by the World Intellectual PropertyOrganization, which is part of the United Nations.

One of the important things that the Convention does is to allow people to apply for patents and trademarks in different countries while maintaining the original priority date. This means that if someone applies for a patent in one country, they have one year to apply for the same patent in other countries without losing their original priority date. The Convention also makes it illegal for countries to discriminate against people from other member nations when it comes to patent protection.

For example, if a company in the United States applies for a patent on a new invention, they can use the Paris Convention to apply for the same patent in other member countries within a year without losing their original priority date. This makes it easier for the company to protect their invention in different parts of the world.

The Paris Convention is an important part of the international patent system and has helped to make it easier for people to protect their intellectual property rights around the world.