All the elements in this section are based on the provisions of the Intellectual Property Code, in acordance with the international treaty "Convention de Berne", establishing the rights of the Authors,”copyright” in English.
Legally, inventor’s copyright consists of the application of the provisions of the same law that establishes artists’ copyright
Copyright invoked by the creator of an industrial item and not benefiting from the legal registration of the publication of literary works, requires the Preliminary Registration procedure, a step “strongly recommended” by authorities.
They advise you to approach ministerial officers (notaries public, lawyers) or any competent organisation concerning the enforcement of copyright
The inventor’s Preliminary Registration never refers to the provisions of the law on patents for inventions .
It invokes industrial copyright
A Preliminary Registration is neither a patent nor a registered model.
It does not constitute a State title. Instead it is a private legal document, admissible in court.
It is legally recognised throughout the world through a single registration in your country of origin.
this explains the absence of fees: translations, etc.
it is valid for life and copyright passes to the creator’s heirs for et least 50 years
Copyright originates simply from the first actual production of your creation.
Tangible production "in an intelligible form" is the sine qua non condition.
Apart from the fact that your creation, by definition, must be original that is, it must go beyond the commonplace or the well known on any point .
Your rights begin only after a first object comes into existence (even if it is relatively ugly and quite poorly designed, not updated and presented in an unattractive way).
Plans and designs do not count as the production of an object.
In terms of copyright, they are worthless to anyone who has invented a technical item.
The first item you produce is "discreet" and is therefore unknown to the authorities.
Because of this, they cannot issue you with any kind of certificate showing that your creation exists.
The need to draw up a description of your creation to explain it in simple terms to those who will read your presentation is incumbent upon you alone.
If you are not good at writing, you can get help from anyone you like in order to provide you with guidance.
In the model here, (lighter) you will see that it is a good idea to write "I had the idea".
Copyright is intellectual property and you need to show that you have thought about and initially conceived in your head a personal solution to a problem that had been bothering you.
It is primarily a personal concept, which it must be to prove that the final tangible object has really originated from your creativity.
You will also specify the ways in which the design – and therefore the object – is original (rather than talking about “features", which are technical and not required for copyright)
You will also explain that your object can be made on different scales, in different proportions, in different materials, colours, geometrical shapes, etc.
Otherwise, your description would be limited to the "registered model" according to the photo, which is not the case.
A registered model protects only the shape, copyright protects the entire creation.
A common error is to confuse between registered model and Creator's Rights"(Copyright)
Copyright is granted to you freely from the start, without any formalities or applications, but it is ineffective, as third parties cannot know of its existence if you have no legal document to represent it before the authorities, like the registration document which represents a car.
It is therefore strongly recommended that you take a legal measure, not to “give you your rights”, because you already possess them, but so that you have an officially dated document confirming the content of your creation and the fact that it is a real one.
A Preliminary Registration is a voluntary declaration. This step also constitutes a legal "Declaration"
In fact, while the patent for the invention is a deed “constituting” rights, as its issue creates the rights attached to an invention, the Preliminary Registration does not need to create rights, because they exist even before it is lodged.
The definition of a Declaration is as follows:
"A document activating a pre-existing but ineffective right".
On this site, you will find various references to the Declaration of Capacity as a Creator, updated and guaranteed by specialist lawyers, which you can find in particular through several private organisations, such as:
NGO IFRACO
A professional quality Official Declaration is an excellent alternative for someone who does not have a patent.
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Make a model or a prototype
even a non-working one, as a first step.
The law says "production", it does not say "operation"
Suppose you have invented a new lighter with original features. You need to photograph it as soon as it "looks like a lighter".
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Put the description of the concept of your creation down in black and white
and attach proof of initial production.
Example description of the lighter design that can be seen in the photo:
“The idea came to me when I noticed that when I turned any classical lighter over to light my pipe, the flame wanted to stay vertical, which is physically natural, and I often burned my fingers. I therefore conceived a lighter whose main original feature consists of producing a blowtorch-type flame which comes out of a suitable nozzle and where the gas pressure used means that a flame is obtained that can be turned in any direction.
I made a prototype, putting together existing materials and parts: gas tank, piezoelectric lighting system, metal nozzles, etc. - things I did not invent.
I obtained a "miniature blow torch" much like those used by plumbers and with a flame that can be perfectly directed. I made a prototype and I declare that my solution is operational.
Work on my creation, which currently exists in the form of some experimental objects, has not been completed. It will be developed and perfected and it will change shape, proportion and colour, respecting my original concept. I am the creator and producer of a lighter that is safer to use than all currently known lighters.
Industrial manufacturing methods for my creation may vary in indeterminate proportions. Neither do I claim here the invention of a technical device, but rather the creation of a new concept in lighters. I am the creator of a work of the mind in the sense understood in intellectual property, as, based on my intellectual research, my skills and my imagination, I have conceived and produced a family of objects as an expression of my creativity.
To my knowledge, my "miniature blowtorch" lighter has never before been expressed by third parties in the way that I have made it. It is the result of my research and original work.”
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Carry out Preliminary Registration
When your items – the description and proof of production – are ready, you prepare Preliminary Registration, which turns your document into an official private agreement, that is, a document with legal value.
As its name indicates, "Preliminary Registration" is a step by which you prove, in black and white, the fact that your original creation is a real one, and you deposit an official copy with the Administration, which registers it in your name. Your document therefore has a "definite date", something which is legally important. It is also enforceable against third parties and is admissible in court.
form of Preliminary Registration
The law allows you to draw up your Preliminary Registration yourself, as you wish, even handwritten on ordinary paper.
Some Internet sites talk about making declarations of this kind yourself, without giving any legal or drafting specifications, without referring to international treaties (which it is a good idea to invoke, in English), without referring to the provisions of the Intellectual Property Code, which must be invoked, article by article, and without referring to case law, which it is a good idea to quote and to keep up to date with.
As the protection of your interests may depend on this document, everywhere and even in court, the greatest care must be taken in drawing it up, both in terms of the background and the form.
Doing it yourself is not a good idea
It is therefore clear that the shaping of a Preliminary Declaration that can have a chance of credibility depends on professional drafting methods overseen by competent lawyers.
It is a good idea to go to really specialised lawyers, who are few in number.
Notice:
about "Copyright "
“Creator's Rights” is used here to not confuse with “copyright” which is also a part of US & UK common law. So, we explain the basis of the general right, not of a national typical law or regulation.
