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1. Attributed rights

Even before IP rights are obtained, it is often extremely important for certain innovations, to obtain a certified date of creation quite rapidly. Cases may be particularly varied and may involve various different forms of protection (see examples described hereunder).

If the creator has a certified date of creation to his innovation, he has evidence to prove him to be the first to develop said creation, model or invention.

However, this does not involve per se intellectual property rights on his creation. It only allows to claim a personal right of ownership towards possible infringers.

It remains possible, after obtaining a certified date for the creation of an innovation, to perform the filing of an official right such as a model or patent application in order to obtain a title of intellectual property if the innovation fulfils all legal conditions in that aspect.

2. Examples

By means of an example, different types of information may be registered in order to obtain at least a certification of a fixed date. This may refer to digital information or not.

Examples are forms of information protected by ordinary copyrights, associated or not with other categories of rights such as patent rights, trademark rights, rights on models, etc. or even protection on laboratory notebooks.

For example, a software programme which may be based upon patent's rights and copyrights, may obtain a certified date of creation before any filing.

A design or a model which may be protected by copyrights or rights related to models and designs or even by trademark rights, may also obtain a certified date of creation before any filing.

The same will apply to a new rule for games, for instance.

Another example is related to information such as the client's know-how, which possibly require_onces data such as the description of an industrial invention, etc., allowing to prove a personal right of ownership. This kind of right applies only to information involving an invention not protected by a patent right that may possibly be protected by obtaining a certified date for a well determined territory. Possibly, this information may be used later on for filing a patent application.

3. Registration proceedure

Several proceedures with a certified date of creation are possible:

- Filing before a notary public
- Filing at an official certification office
- Performing an I-filing with the Benelux Office for Designs and Models (BODM)
- Using specialised firms in registering binary data.

All these proceedures keep the information secret. There is no public disclosure of any kind.

a. Filing before a notary public

In our opinion, any type of information mentioned above may be the object of filing before a notary public. Modalities for filing are based upon agreement with the notary public. However, it should be noted that for certain categories of information such as laboratory notebooks and personal rights of ownership, a certain number of requirements should be met (fixed date, identification of inventors or of the client, signature, etc.).

b. Filing at an official certification office

This type of filing is performed in Belgium with the Registration section of the Ministry of Finance and may only be applied for information stated on paper. Besides, it should be noted that only information in French or in Dutch is allowed to form the object of filing at registration.

c. I-filing

Following the proceedure, documents should be transmitted through our office in duplicate to the Benelux Office for Designs and Models (BODM). These documents are filed in a specific envelope (having two flaps) that shall be perforated by the Benelux Office for Designs and Models; the two flaps having the same reference number. One of the two flaps is sent to the mandatory who has to keep it sealed.

The other flap is held by the Benelux Office for Designs and Models during an indefinitely renewable period of 5 years. In case no renewal was requested within 5 years, the envelope will be destroyed within two months.

At any time, the envelope may be restored in order to serve as judicial proof of the personal right of ownership. Additionally, it should be noted that once restored to the inventor, the envelope may not be refiled with the Benelux Office for Designs and Models. A new filing then needs to be performed.

d. Use of specialised firms on the Web

Our office has good contacts with certain firms specialised in performing different types of intellectual property rights only existing in a digital form. More information can be provided upon request.

4. Confidentiality agreements

Before disclosure of your innovation to third parties, we recommend to establish an agreement of confidentiality with all people interested in the innovation and more specifically during the period preceding the filing of the patent application or model. Upon request, we may assist you in drafting such a document.