Industrial Property Law

Article L. 611-10, b) of the Intellectual Property Code excludes aesthetic creations from the scope of patentability, which remain protectable under copyright and/or design law. Nevertheless, the fact that an invention produces an aesthetic result does not exclude it from patentability, since the invention lies in the means by which the result is achieved, and not in the result itself. An invention can therefore be patented even if it has a certain aesthetic or ornamental appeal .

Protection of a design under design law does not preclude its protection under patent law, as the two protections can in principle be combined. While the former Article L. 511-3, paragraph 2, of the Intellectual Property Code seemed to preclude such protection , protection under design law is now only excluded when the characteristics of the product's appearance are exclusively dictated by its technical function, irrespective of whether or not it is patentable (Art. L. 511-8 IP Code). Thus, the filing of a “Soleau envelope” as a precautionary measure to preserve proof of a design right does not preclude a finding that the invention is patentable .

Cass. com., 29 June 2010, LawLex202100002717JBJ, in this case: a model of tile whose shape makes it possible to obtain a roof with a certain visual appearance.

See Cass. com. 29 June 2010, LawLex202100002717JBJ.

Cass. com, 22 February 2005, LawLex202200000644JBJ.

240. Aesthetic creations