Section 5: Disciplinary system

The disciplinary chamber, provided for in Article L. 422-10 for dealing with breaches of their obligations by industrial property attorneys, is composed of seven members: 1° A magistrate of the judiciary, chairman, appointed on the proposal of the first president of the Paris court of appeal; 2° A member of the Council of State appointed on the proposal of the vice-president of the Council of State; 3° A former president…

The members of the Disciplinary Board and their alternates shall be appointed for a term of four years, renewable once, by joint order of the Minister of Justice and the Minister responsible for industrial property. .

The secretary of the Compagnie nationale des conseils en propriété industrielle is the rapporteur of the Disciplinary Board. If he is unable to act, the office of the company shall appoint a substitute from among its members. The secretariat of the Disciplinary Board is provided by the Institut national de la propriété industrielle.

The matter is referred to the Disciplinary Board by the Keeper of the Seals, Minister of Justice, by the Minister responsible for industrial property, by the Director General of the National Institute of Industrial Property, by the President of the National Association of Industrial Property Attorneys or by the complaint of a person who considers himself to have been harmed by the failure of an industrial property attorney to fulfil…

On receipt of a complaint, the President of the Compagnie nationale des conseils en propriété industrielle may propose a conciliation procedure to the parties, if the alleged infringement that is the subject of the complaint has not already been the subject of such a procedure. If the parties accept this procedure, it will be carried out in accordance with the procedures laid down in the rules of procedure referred to…

The President of the Compagnie nationale des conseils en propriété industrielle acts as prosecuting authority. He examines the referral or complaint and gives a reasoned decision within two months of the referral. It decides whether to initiate proceedings with a view to disciplinary action against the industrial property attorney or to close the complaint or referral if it considers that it is inadmissible, unfounded or manifestly unfounded. He will notify…

The time limit for appealing against the decision to close the case is one month. It runs from the day on which notification was made to the author of the complaint or referral. Reasons must be given for the appeal. It shall be addressed to the secretariat of the Disciplinary Board. The appeal body is made up of three industrial property attorneys appointed by the president of the Compagnie nationale…

In the event of a decision to institute proceedings, the rapporteur shall investigate the case by taking all necessary investigative measures, including obtaining from the prosecuting authority and, where appropriate, from the appeal body, all information that he considers useful. The rapporteur may request the necessary explanations from the chamber of the industrial property attorney being prosecuted, from the author of the complaint or referral, from the examiner(s) mentioned in…

The summons to the hearing before the Disciplinary Board is sent by the Secretariat to the industrial property agent being prosecuted, at least one month before the hearing. It is accompanied by the report filed by the rapporteur. The observations received from the parties are annexed to the report. Where the person being prosecuted is a legal entity, the summons is sent under the same conditions to its legal representative….

Unless one of its members and his or her alternate is disqualified on one of the grounds provided for in article L. 111-6 of the Code of Judicial Organisation, the Disciplinary Board may only sit and deliberate if all the members or their alternates are present. The Board hears the rapporteur, who reads his report. The chamber hears the rapporteur who reads out his report. The author of the complaint…