Scientific property

The Confederation of Intellectual Workers which was formed in Paris three years ago, and one of whose main goals is the defense of the rights of intellectuals over the production of their work, has just put together a bill presented to the Parliament by Mr. Dalimier.

Under the terms of this project, the authors of scientific discoveries or inventions will enjoy, throughout their lives, the right to profit from their invention or discovery. It is in fact unacceptable that, under various pretexts, industrialists can freely seize the discoveries of scientists, exploit them, often making immense profits, without the scientist's ownership of his invention being recognized and respected. , no more than his right to a share of profits. In the current state of our legislation, the inventor was much less protected by the law than the writer or artist. Its exploitation monopoly, guaranteed by a patent, lasts less long, being fifteen years, at most, while authors and artists enjoy their monopoly during their entire life and their rights extend to their heirs for fifty years, counting. of death. Furthermore, the patent, as established by the law of July 5, 1844, only protects industrial discoveries. It is without force and without scope for scientific authors and for the protection of scientific property. Finally, the patent giving right to the exploitation of a discovery or invention only confers on the author the monopoly of this exploitation upon payment of a fairly high fee.

The Dalimier project has a general scope. It extends to all scientific discoveries and the industrial consequences which may result directly from them. “It protects discoveries, that is to say demonstrations of the hitherto unknown existence of principles, bodies, agents and properties of living beings or matter, and inventions, that is to say the creations of the mind consisting of methods, devices, products, compositions of products still unknown and, in general, all new applications of discoveries and inventions. Authorship of an invention or discovery will be acquired by the author who makes it known in an approved scientific periodical. This publication will constitute sufficient publicity so that no kind of dispute can arise. If it happens that the discovery is useful or essential to public health, if it is, for example, a new, essential medicine, the State, after obligatory opinion from the Academy of Sciences or of the Academy of Medicine, as the case may be, may, by decree issued on the proposal of the Minister of Public Education, classify the discovery or invention as necessary for the public interest and determine the conditions under which it will be fixed the right of the inventor. The latter must, in this case, grant the necessary licenses to ensure the manufacturing necessary for public use and copyright will be reserved for him by the various manufacturers or operators.

Mr. B