Chapter V: Legal proceedings

Proceedings before the commission are adversarial.

On the appointed day, the commission hears the parties, it endeavours to reconcile their points of view and reach conciliation. If one of the parties does not appear, the commission establishes its failure and hears the other party. Minutes are drawn up. In the event of total or partial conciliation, the minutes mention the content of the agreement. In the absence of total conciliation, the disputed points are recorded.

In the event that one of the parties fails to appear or in the absence of full conciliation, the commission shall undertake to draw up the conciliation proposal provided for in Article L. 615-21.

The Chairman may carry out any investigative measure. He may at any time establish that the parties are in agreement or call a further meeting for this purpose.

Unless authorised by the chairman, only members of the commission and of the National Institute of Industrial Property as well as the parties and the persons assisting or representing them shall be present at conciliation meetings.

In the event of a request from the party who has not referred the matter to the commission or of the consolidation of several requests relating to the same invention, the six-month period within which the conciliation proposal is drawn up shall run from the date on which the matter was last referred to the commission.

Where the invention concerns national defence, the conciliation proposal shall not contain any analysis of the invention likely to result in its disclosure.

The conciliation proposal is signed by the chairman and the secretary. The latter notifies it to the parties.

Referral to the commission suspends any statute of limitations.

On proof of referral to the commission, the tribunal de grande instance shall stay the proceedings until the expiry of the six-month period provided for in Article L. 615-21 unless the commission has already formulated its conciliation proposal.