The Soleau envelope (French: Enveloppe Soleau), named after its French inventor, Eugène Soleau [ fr], is a sealed envelope serving as proof of priority for inventions valid in France, exclusively to precisely ascertain the date of an invention, idea or creation of a work. It can be applied for at the French National Institute of Industrial Property ( INPI). The working principles were defined in the ruling of May 9, 1986, published in the official gazette of June 6, 1986 ( Journal officiel de la République française or JORF), although the institution of the Soleau envelope dates back to 1915. ^[1]

The envelope has two compartments which must each contain the identical version of the element for which registration is sought. ^[2] The INPI laser-marks some parts of the envelope for the sake of delivery date authentication and sends one of the compartments back to the original depositary who submitted the envelope. ^[2]

The originator must keep their part of the envelope sealed except in case of litigation. ^[3] The deposit can be made at the INPI, by airmail, or at the INPI's regional subsidiaries. ^[2] The envelope is kept for a period of five years, and the term can be renewed once. ^[3]

The envelope may not contain any hard element such as cardboard, rubber, computer disks, leather, staples, or pins. Each compartment can only contain up to seven A4-size paper sheets, with a maximum of 5 millimetres (0.2 in) thickness. If the envelope is deemed inadmissible, it is sent back to the depositary at their own expense. ^[2]

Unlike a patent or utility model, the depositor has no exclusivity right over the claimed element. The Soleau envelope, as compared to a later patent, only allows use of the technique, rather than ownership, and multiple people might submit envelopes to support separate similar use, before a patent is later granted to restrict application.

See also

• Poor man's copyright

Reference list

External links

• The envelope Soleau on the French IP institute website (in French)