What is the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property?

The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property is an international agreement that establishes key principles for intellectual property protection, including patents. It was first signed in 1883 and has been revised several times since then.

The Convention is significant in patent law because it established the right of priority, which allows patent applicants to claim priority based on an earlier filing in any country that is a member of the Paris Convention. This right is referenced in MPEP 213, which states:

‘The right of priority is defined in 35 U.S.C. 119(a)… Under this statute, an applicant who has filed a first foreign application is entitled to claim the benefit of the filing date of the first foreign application in a subsequent U.S. national patent application…’

This provision helps inventors protect their inventions internationally by giving them a grace period to file in multiple countries while maintaining the priority date of their first filing.