Soleau envelope
A Soleau envelope, named for its creator, is a simple, cost effective means of proof.
It allows you to constitute proof of creation and provide a clear date for the creation of your idea or project.
It establishes your copyright.
Copyright protects literary works, musical, graphic, and plastic creations as well as software, applied arts creations, fashion creations, etc.
A Soleau envelope establishes the date of creation for your work though its description and identifies you as the author.
A Soleau envelope also allows you to date your ideas (concepts, processes...) while maintaining secrecy:
- before contacting a future financial, industrial, or commercial partner, if the idea or project is not yet in material form, and negotiating confidential agreements mentioning your envelope;
- before patenting the invention, if the author wishes to complete project development (a new product, an improvement to a product, a novel process);
- during research and development phases, to protect the work and minimize the consequences of any indiscretion, etc.
WARNING: although Soleau envelopes provide for registering a creation and provide a specific date for their content, they do not constitute a title to industrial property. There is no direct protection arising thereunder.
Where may Soleau envelopes be acquired?
- either at the INPI;
- or at the online store (payment with bank cards only) www.boutique.inpi.fr
- or ordering from the INPI’s accounting agent, in Paris or the provinces.
How much do they cost?
Envelopes cost €15 each
What must they contain?
Soleau envelopes are composed of two sections: one for you and one for the INPI. In each section you must enter the elements you wish to be dated, that is a textual description or a two-dimensional representation (schematics, drawings, photos, etc.) of your creation, in two perfectly identical copies.
WARNING: prototypes may not be registered using a Soleau envelope.
The contents may be presented in any manner, but must not inhibit laser perforation by the INPI, which is used to date the envelope.
- The envelope must not contain any “hard bodies:” you may not insert, for example, cardboard, rubber, leather, a diskette, a pin, a stamp...
- The envelope must not exceed 5 mm thickness: you may only include up to 7 sheets maximum of A4 paper in each compartment.
WARNING: if the Soleau envelope cannot be perforated, it will not be recorded and will be returned at your expense.
Where may it be deposited?
Once filled out, the Soleau envelope must be folded and sealed. Place your last name, first name, and address in the area indicated on each section.
The envelope must be sent to the INPI:
- By mail, if necessary by registered letter, return receipt requested, to the INPI Drawings and Models Office’s address, printed on the envelope. The date taken into account will be the date the INPI receives the envelope.
- Directly by hand, at one of the 12 delegations in Paris and the provinces. The date taken into account will be the date you deposit it with the INPI.
Your Soleau envelope: what happens after depositing?
After recording and laser perforating the envelope to date it, the INPI sends one of the sections back to you by registered letter, return receipt requested. You must keep it without unsealing it!
The INPI will keep the other section in its archives for 5 years, renewable once. Beyond that time, it will be destroyed, unless you request its return.
Extending the Life of Your Soleau Envelope
To renew your envelope after the first 5 years, you must pay €15 and send your request by mail to the following address:
INPI – Bureau des Dessins et Modèles
Gestion des enveloppes Soleau
13bis, rue de l’Épargne – BP 70249
60202 Compiègne Cedex
Don’t forget to specify the number and deposit date for your Soleau envelope and include a check payable to the Agent comptable de l’INPI. The INPI will send you a letter specifying that extended archiving has been accepted.
Having Your Soleau Envelope Returned to You
During the period it is held by the INPI you may, at any time, request that the archived section be returned to you. To do so, you must send your request by mail to the above address.
Even after 10 years, we recommend you keep both sections, since the Soleau envelope may serve as proof in the event of litigation.
In the Event of Litigation
Should someone contest the date of your creation or project,
the person contesting your right must bring the case before the competent court.
The presiding judge may request that the INPI return the envelope from the archives for it to be used as proof.
The envelope may also be opened by your request, directly to the INPI.
The presence of a bailiff provides for establishing a report proving the envelope’s contents.
If you contest the date of someone else’s creation or project,
you must bring the case before a competent court.
The presiding judge may request that the INPI return the envelope from the archives for it to be used as proof.
The comparison between the contents of both sections authenticates the document.
WARNING: once the envelope is opened, keep it safely, as well as any copies of the judgment or report.