Oh, patents! Concours Lépine 2019

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

On April 27, the grand opening of the 118^th year of the Concours Lépine International was celebrated within the auspices of  the annual Paris fair, Foire de Paris, held at the Parc des Expositions, Porte de Versailles, from April 27 to May 8, 2019.

Louis Lépine

Indeed, it was in 1901 that the Paris Police Commissioner Louis Lépine drafted and decreed the official rules for the Concours Lépine, a contest and exhibit for small artisan inventors, which offered to patent the entries to the contest and exhibit. At the turn of the twentieth century, the idea was to protect Parisian toymakers, who were facing stiff foreign competition, while populating the Foire de Paris with interesting exhibits.

Since then, the contest is open to all inventors who have received patents for their inventions. The inventions on exhibit are also judged and awarded the many contest prizes. Beyond the major Concours Lépine Prizes: the Grand Prize, the Jury’s Prize and the President of the Jury’s Prize, awarded in Bronze, Silver and Gold, for the various contest categories ranging from smart home to construction materials and energy efficiency, many additional prizes are awarded. Each award highlights the connections between the contest and the Public Administration at the foundation of the contest. Thus, for example, awards are designated The President of the Republic Award, The Prime Minister’s Award, The Senate Award, The National Assembly Award, The Mayor of Paris Award etc.

In addition to the International Contest and Exhibit, held each year in Spring at the Foire de Paris, many regional Concours Lépine are also held in France.  The same company, founded in 1901, to administer the contest, La Société des Petits Fabricants et Inventeurs Français (SPFIF), now designated Association des Inventeurs et Fabricants Français (AIFF), manages and administers the Concours Lépine.

This year’s award-winning inventions are listed here.

References

Concours Lépine

https://www.concours-lepine.com/

Foir de Paris

https://en.foiredeparis.fr/