Can you protect an idea? What the law says and how to build up proof

An idea alone cannot be protected

The INPI sums it up as follows: “copyright does not protect ideas or concepts, but their concrete expression”. Likewise, abstract ideas cannot be patented. In practice, anyone can have the same idea as you, a neighbour-to-neighbour rental app, a range of solid cosmetics, and develop it in their own way.

What can be protected are the concrete elements that give shape to the idea.

What really protects a project

What you want to protect	Protection	How
The Name, the logo	Trademark	Filing with the INPI, the EUIPO or internationally: 10 years, renewable
A text, a visual, software, a website	Copyright	Automatic from creation, if the work is original; proof of date recommended
A technical invention	Patent	Filing before any disclosure: up to 20 years
The appearance of a product	Design	Filing: 5 years, renewable up to 25 years
Know-how, confidential information	Trade secret, contract	Non-disclosure agreement, dated proof

Copyright: automatic, but must be proven

The author of a work of the mind owns the rights to it “by the mere fact of its creation” (article L111-1 of the French Intellectual Property Code), without any formality, provided the work is original, i.e. it reflects the personality of its author. The right continues after the author's death for the current calendar year and the following seventy years (article L123-1).

As no filing is required, the difficulty in a dispute is proving that you were first. Hence the value of dated proof.

Building up proof of date

The INPI's e-Soleau

• It proves that a creation existed on a given date: the receipt shows the date, the documents filed and their digital fingerprints.
• It costs €15 up to 50 MB, then €10 per additional 50 MB, for 5 years of storage, extendable three times (up to 20 years in total). The extension must be requested before the current period ends.
• It is not a property title: it grants neither a monopoly nor legal protection.

Other methods mentioned by the INPI

• filing with a public officer (notary, judicial officer);
• electronic timestamping;
• a laboratory notebook, for research work;
• escrow, for example for software;
• filing with an authors' society, for artistic works.

Patents, for a technical invention

An invention is patentable if it is new (not disclosed before filing), involves an inventive step (not obvious to an expert) and is capable of industrial application. Not patentable, in particular, are scientific theories, mathematical methods, software as such and purely artistic creations. A patent provides protection for up to 20 years, subject to payment of the annual fees.

The non-disclosure agreement

Before presenting a project to an investor, a potential partner or a contractor, a non-disclosure agreement (often called an NDA) contractually binds the other party not to disclose or use the information shared. It does not create any right over the idea, but it sets rules and allows you to take action in the event of a breach.

And your project's Name?

It is often the easiest element to protect, and the most exposed: a Name can be copied in seconds. First check that it is available, then file it as a Trademark for your products and services.