The directorate was established within the Ministry of Public Instruction, Fine Arts, and Inventions for National Defense by decree on 13 November 1915, at the initiative of Minister Paul Painlevé who after the resignation of the René Viviani government in October 1915, had become Minister of Public Instruction in the Aristide Briand government.
The directorate was also responsible for examining inventions submitted by inventors and conducting research requested by the Ministries of War and the Navy.
Jules-Louis Breton became Secretary of State for Inventions in the new Ministry of Artillery and Munitions, led by Albert Thomas.
During the war, the establishment and functioning of the Directorate of Inventions and its Commission were widely appreciated by researchers (both academics and engineers), industrialists, military personnel, and parliamentarians who generously funded their work.
It was eventually merged in 1923 into the newly created National Office for Scientific and Industrial Research and Inventions (ONRSII).