What is the Paris Convention for patent priority rights?

The Paris Convention is an international treaty that establishes priority rights for patent applications. According to MPEP 213, “The right of priority is defined in 35 U.S.C. 119(a)” and is based on this convention. It allows inventors who file a patent application in one member country to claim priority for up to 12 months when filing in other member countries.

Key points of the Paris Convention include:

• Establishing a 12-month priority period for patents
• Allowing applicants to claim priority based on earlier filings in member countries
• Ensuring equal treatment of foreign and domestic applicants in member countries