A new article L.611-7-1 has been introduced in the French Intellectual Property Code by the Order of December 15, 2021.

This new article fills the legal void for cases where the inventor did not have the status of employee and for which the provisions of Art. L.611-7 of the French Intellectual Property Code could not apply.

From now on, non-salaried inventors hired under an agreement by a public or private legal entity carrying out research, such as trainees, foreign doctoral students and emeritus professors or directors, will be subject to the provisions of Art. L.611-7-1 of the French Intellectual Property Code.

Therefore, inventions made by a non-salaried inventor under agreement will also be subject to a system applicable to an invention falling within the scope of employment ("service invention") or to an invention outside the scope of employment but assignable to the employer ("invention assignable"), similarly to the employee’s inventions according to Art. L.611-7 of the French Intellectual Property Code.

It is worth noting that in the case of a “service invention”, the non-salaried inventor under agreement will have to receive a financial compensation from his employer, instead of the additional remuneration. For the “invention assignable”, the inventor must obtain a fair compensation.