French Intellectual Property Code

Any infringement of the patent owner’s rights, as defined in Articles L. 613-3 to L. 613-6, constitutes an infringement. An infringement engages the civil liability of its perpetrator. However, the offering, placing on the market, use, possession with a view to use or placing on the market of an infringing product, where these acts are committed by a person other than the manufacturer of the infringing product, only gives rise…

The infringement action is brought by the patent owner. Unless otherwise stipulated in the licence agreement, it is also open to the holder of an exclusive licence provided, on pain of inadmissibility, that the patent holder is informed in advance. The holder of a non-exclusive licence may bring an infringement action, if the licence contract expressly authorises him to do so, provided that he first informs the patent holder, failing…

Any person having standing to bring an infringement action may apply to the competent civil court for summary proceedings in order to obtain an order, if necessary subject to a fine, against the alleged infringer or the intermediaries whose services he uses, for any measure intended to prevent imminent infringement of the rights conferred by the title or to prevent the continuation of acts alleged to be infringing. The competent…

As an exception to the provisions of Article L. 613-1, acts prior to the date on which the patent application was made public under Article L. 612-21 or that of the notification to any third party of a certified copy of this application shall not be deemed to have infringed the rights attached to the patent. However, between the date referred to in the preceding paragraph and that of the…

Infringement may be proven by any means. To this end, any person having standing to bring an infringement action shall be entitled to have carried out at any place and by any bailiffs, where appropriate assisted by experts appointed by the plaintiff, pursuant to an order made on request by the competent civil court, either a detailed description, with or without taking samples, or the actual seizure of the allegedly…

If the patent relates to a process for obtaining a product, the court may order the defendant to prove that the process used to obtain an identical product is different from the patented process. If the defendant fails to provide such proof, any identical product manufactured without the consent of the patent owner will be presumed to have been obtained by the patented process in the following two cases: a)…

The court may order, of its own motion or at the request of any person with standing to bring an infringement action, all legally permissible investigative measures even if a seizure for infringement has not previously been ordered under the conditions set out in l’article L. 615-5.

If so requested, the court hearing the case on the merits or in summary proceedings under this Title may order, if necessary under penalty, in order to determine the origin and distribution networks of the allegedly infringing products or processes which infringe the rights of the plaintiff, the production of any documents or information held by the defendant or by any person who has been found in possession of allegedly…