The Institut national de la propriété industrielle shall observe and observe itself the principle of contradiction. It may not base its decision on pleas, explanations or documents put forward or produced by the parties without the latter having been given the opportunity to debate them in adversarial proceedings. Any observations or documents submitted by one of the parties shall be notified without delay to the other parties.
The parties are required to expressly state their claims and the factual and legal grounds on which each of their claims is based. All exchanges between the Institute and the parties shall take place in accordance with procedures laid down by decision of the Director General of the National Institute of Industrial Property.