Industrial Property Law

Any infringement of the rights of a patent owner, as defined by Articles L. 613-3 to L. 613-6 of the Intellectual Property Code, constitutes an infringement which engages the civil liability of the infringer (Art. L. 615-1 IP Code), as well as criminal liability (Art. L. 615-14 to L. 615-14-3 IP Code). Victims of patent infringement can choose whether to bring their action before a civil or crimin …

Protection of the patent

Any infringement of the rights of a patent owner, as defined by Articles L. 613-3 to L. 613-6 of the Intellectual Property Code, constitutes an infringement which engages the civil liability of the infringer (Art. L. 615-1 IP Code), as well as criminal liability (Art. L. 615-14 to L. 615-14-3 IP Code). Victims of patent infringement can choose whether to bring their action before a civil or criminal court (Art. 3 and 4 Code of Criminal Procedure). 

By definition, industrial property infringement constitutes a violation of the monopoly conferred by a patent, which in any event means the loss of an opportunity to sell the product protected by the patent. The owner of the patent rights must be able to obtain not only the cessation of the acts of infringement, but also compensation for the resulting harm. Within the internal market, Directive No 2004/48 of 29 April 2004 on the enforcement of intellectual property rights, which applies to all intellectual property rights and aims to ensure a high, equivalent and homogeneous level of protection for intellectual property in the internal market has only partially achieved this objective due to its lack of severity with regard to counterfeiting and piracy. 

The fight against counterfeiting is also ensured by customs law, at both international and European level. Articles 51 et seq. of the TRIPS Agreement lay down the requirements for border measures to be adopted by Member States, such as the suspension by customs authorities of the release of goods, the right of inspection and information, or corrective measures. EU law was quick to lay down rules enabling Member States to prohibit the release of counterfeit goods for free circulation. Most recently, Regulation No 608/2013 of 12 January 2013, applicable since 1 June 2014, provides for a customs control mechanism for goods entering or leaving the EU. Goods crossing the French border from or to other Member States are subject to the customs detention mechanism introduced in Articles L. 614-32 et seq. of the Intellectual Property Code by Law No 2014-315 of 11 March 2014 .

Lastly, the patent owner is entitled to bring an action for unfair competition. In effect, the subsidiary nature of an unfair competition action means that it can be brought concurrently with an infringement action, provided that the event giving rise to unfair competition is distinct from the act of infringement.

Law No 2014-315 of 11 March 2014 reinforcing the fight against counterfeiting, OJ No 0060 of 12 March 2014.

Industrial Property Law

380. Protection of the patent

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Les notions juridiques connexes

380. Protection of the patent

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Sous parties

Les notions juridiques connexes

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