Assignment of the Right of Priority under European and American Laws

The right of priority is a cornerstone of the international protection of inventions. First established in the Paris Convention during the first diplomatic conference in Paris in 1883, and amended in the subsequent revision conferences, it has been implemented by all member states of the Convention. After filing a patent application, the applicant has twelve months to expand international protection of an invention by filing subsequent patent applications in the Paris Convention member states. This is the essence of the right of priority. However, the provisions on the transferability and related elements of the priority right are not uniform, as they are based on national law. This may have negative consequences for the validity of the assignment of the right of priority as a part of international transactions of technology. The consequences can be severe. If the transfer of priority is invalid, the subsequently claimed invention lacks novelty.