YesMyPatent has teamed up with EvidenZ, the publisher of the BCdiploma solution, to set up a service for depositing documents in the Blockchain. The latter enables you to obtain a prima facie case to attest to your prior personal possession. This means it’s possible to date and store your work with a certificate constituting legal proof, according to the December 24, 2018 decree on the Shared Electronic Registration Device. This is the first step towards protecting your creations, inventions and ideas.
But what’s the difference between a Blockchain filing, a bailiff’s report, a notary’s procedure or an E-Soleau envelope? Is it equivalent to patent protection? What is the advantage of the Blockchain for this type of creative protection procedure?
Time-stamping documents: a procedure with multiple applications
Dating documents was not born with the arrival of Blockchain. Official documents were already dated, and sometimes even time-stamped, to record official events. In the field of financial transactions, these are precisely time-stamped.
Notarized documents are also dated. The transfer or sale of a property, a donation, a marriage contract, a will… are all official documents that are dated. At this point, the date is extremely important, as it seals the beginning of a new period: community property in the case of a marriage, for example.
In the same way, it is notary to protect documents. A frequently mentioned alternative to the E-Soleau envelope, depositing work with a notary does not restrict the types of formats. The notary records and dates your documents (videos, plans, audio files or simply research reports). The deeds he or she issues have official value, and can be used as evidence in legal disputes.
About EvidenZ – BCdiploma
| EvidenZ-BCdiploma provides schools and training centers with a 100% digital, forgery-proof diploma service. Based on Blockchain technology, EvidenZ-BCdiploma issues recognized and unforgeable certificates. The graduated learner thus receives a certification or diploma in the form of a link (URL). This unique link has the status of an official document. It is then possible, for example, to integrate this URL directly into LinkedIn to communicate about one’s training path. This URL is as valuable and important as a paper diploma. |
Time-stamping your work: the 1st step before patenting your idea
Filing a patent application is a demanding procedure. It requires a certain maturity with regard to one’s invention. The wording of the patent, and in particular the claims, has a direct impact on the level of protection afforded to your industrial property. In fact, if you obtain a patent for a tool measuring 4.8 cm, you have a patent for this type of tool provided it measures strictly 4.8 cm. If your competitor markets an equivalent 5 cm solution, you are not protected. It’s the role of the Industrial Property Attorney to advise you on how to draft a patent that will protect your interests in the long term.
It’s natural for an invention to be incomplete in the R&D phase, despite a great idea. This does not call into question the relevance of your innovation, but it is possible that your work is still at the research stage. A certain degree of maturity is required to patent a process. Protecting a document with a time-stamping system gives you the opportunity to date your anteriority. This anteriority formalized by an E-Soleau envelope or a Blockchain deposit with YesMyPatent x EvidenZ establishes proof in the event of litigation. It’s also a very useful procedure that complements the protection afforded by a confidentiality agreement (NDA) when you need to communicate about your innovation with others (service providers, suppliers, funders, CIR or CII applications, etc.).
| Procedure | Protection level |
| E-Soleau envelope | Proof of anteriority |
| Time-stamping on the blockchain with YesMyPatent and EvidenZ | Proof of anteriority |
| Non-disclosure agreement | Confidentiality of documents exchanged with a third party |
| Patent, provisional patent, utility certificate | Industrial property title Monopoly on the exploitation of the invention (to exploit oneself or to exploit licenses) |
A word of caution: proof of anteriority is not equivalent to a patent!
It is useful for invalidating a third party’s patent application if the latter has copied you, for example by not respecting the NDA. Proof of anteriority is therefore essential for allpatent opposition proceedings.
However, proof of anteriority is a highly effective procedure in other fields. In copyright law, for example, it enables you to show that you are the true author of a text when it is plagiarized by another person. Time-stamping in the Blockchain on our site, or using an E-Soleau envelope, are therefore highly relevant for writers, musicians, designers and architects.
Document registration via the blockchain
| Blockchain is now a mastered technology. It has opened up numerous opportunities, particularly in the financial sector. This virtual database is updated in real time worldwide. It offers great prospects for innovation. The principle (and strength) of Blockchain lies in the fact that everyone has the same versions, all the time. The elements are totally unforgeable: using it as a tool to protect industrial property is therefore an obvious choice. |
Document protection: the 6 differences game
| E-Soleau envelope (INPI) | Deposited with a notary | Time-stamping in the Blockchain with YesMyPatent |
| Variable price: âŹ15/10MB, then âŹ10/10MB more | Price varies according to deposit and duration of protection | Fixed price |
| the e-soleau can be consulted once by the judge and 3 times by the customer | Valid proof after consultation | Valid proof after consultation |
| Unsearchable and sealed documents | Documents available from the notary | Documents available for unlimited online consultation |
| Protection period limited to 5 years | Unlimited period of protection but influence on price | Unlimited protection period |
| Additional cost for extended coverage | Additional cost for extended coverage | No extra cost |
| Delivery of an electronic envelope with secret contents that cannot be consulted without destroying the evidence | Issuance of an official document | Issue of a certificate |
The benefits of protecting a document in the blockchain: going beyond the E-Soleau envelope
An E-Soleau envelope is based on the principle of confidentiality and sealing. Although melted wax seals have gone out of fashion, theE-Soleau en velope is a modernized version. An electronic document filed with theINPI in an E-Soleau envelope is valid as long as it remains unopened. In concrete terms, when you want to prove your anteriority on ideas or works, you have to open the E-Soleau envelope. Once the envelope has been opened, it is no longer valid, and your proof has been consumed.
Do I need an Industrial Property Attorney for filing and time-stamping documents to be protected?
The advantage of filing documents in the Blockchain? It’s a formality that you can carry out quickly and independently. You can file your documents and pay online on our website. You’ll get your certificate immediately.
Nevertheless, you may still have questions! The CPI will guide you in choosing the documents to file, as well as the various dates or milestones in your innovation project when it would be relevant to protect your documents. Monitoring your work with an IPC is also ideal for determining the level of maturity of your invention, and the point at which it would be appropriate to file a patent. As the date of filing of the patent application is very important, this choice is decisive! What’s more, the patent attorney, with his or her knowledge of your work, will advise you on the most appropriate procedure for your project: patent, provisional patent, utility certificate?
EvidenZ-BCdiploma and YesMyPatent
| YesMyPatent and EvidenZ are working together to offer inventors, engineers, authors and creators a solution for protecting their documents using Blockchain technology. In the same way as for digital certification dedicated to diplomas, the YesMyPatent time-stamping offer is based on the Blockchain. Why the term “time-stamping”? Because in the Blockchain, every action is recorded in a global database with precise histories. This is why filing a document in anticipation of patenting an idea or dating an R&D document is a step that secures and makes your industrial property strategy more reliable. |
