On establishing priority of ideas: revisiting the "pli cacheté" (deposition of a sealed envelope).

This article proposes that individuals should have the option to deposit with journals and editors ideas, hypotheses, theories and other research material in "sealed envelopes". This "pli cacheté" approach could allow to establish priority of thinking and doing a posteriori, i.e., when the envelope is opened. Such concept can be important in two ways: (i) it offers the opportunity to claim priority of sealed scientific rationale and data which may not be substantiated enough and might mislead when published too early or even erroneously; (ii) it could facilitate research in connection with patents because scientific information which is available in the public domain will not receive patent protection in most cases. Roots of the pli cacheté in the French Academie des Sciences in the 1700s, three empirical examples between 1798 and 1982 and recommendations as to how to handle sealed envelopes proceduraly today are provided.