B. Consequently, any subsequent filing in any of the other countries of the Union before
the expiration of the periods referred to above shall not be invalidated by reason of any
acts accomplished in the interval, the particular, another filing, the publication or
exploitation of the invention, the putting on sale of copies of the design, or the use of the
mark, and such acts cannot give rise to any third-party right or any right of personal
possession. Rights acquired by third parties before the date of the first application that
serves as the basis of the right of priority are reserved in accordance with the domestic
legislation of each country of the Union.
C. (1) The periods of priority referred to above shall be twelve months for patents and
utility models, and six months for industrial designs and trademarks.
(2) These periods shall start from the date of filing of the first application; the day of
filing shall not be included in the period.
(3) If the last day of the period is an official holiday, or a day when the office is not open
for the filing of applications in the country where protection is claimed, the period shall
be extended until the first following working day.
(4) A subsequent application concerning the same object as a previous first application
within the meaning of paragraph (2), above, filed in the same country of the Union, shall
be considered as the first application, of which the filing date shall be the starting point of
the period of priority, if, at the time of filing the subsequent application, the said previous
application has been withdrawn, abandoned, or refused, without having been laid open to
public inspection and without leaving any rights outstanding, and if it has not yet served
as a basis for claiming a right of priority. The previous application may not thereafter
serve as a basis for claiming a right of priority.
D. (1) Any person desiring to take advantage of the priority of a previous filing shall be
required to make a declaration indicating the date of such filing and the country in which
it was made. Each country shall determine the latest date on which such declaration must
be made.
(2) These particulars shall be mentioned in the publications issues by the competent
authority, and in particular in the patents and the specifications relating thereto.
(3) The countries of the Union may require any person making a declaration of priority to
produce a copy of the application (description, drawings, etc.) previously filed. The copy,
certified as correct by the authority which received such application, shall not require any
authentication, and may in any case be filed, without fee, at any time within three months
of the filing of the subsequent application. They may require it to be accompanied by a
certificate from the same authority showing the date of filing, and by a translation.
(4) No other formalities may be required for the declaration of priority at the time of
filing the application. Each country of the Union shall determine the consequences of