Industrial Property Law

Infringement proceedings in respect of designs are time-barred five years after the day on which the proprietor knew or should have known of the last act enabling the exercise of his or her rights (Art. L. 521-3 IP Code) . Each distinct act of infringement gives rise to its own limitation period. However, if the infringement is of a continuous nature, the limitation period begins on the day when t …

Statute of limitations

Infringement proceedings in respect of designs are time-barred five years after the day on which the proprietor knew or should have known of the last act enabling the exercise of his or her rights (Art. L. 521-3 IP Code) . Each distinct act of infringement gives rise to its own limitation period. However, if the infringement is of a continuous nature, the limitation period begins on the day when the infringement ceases.

Prior to the Law of 29 October 2007, in the absence of any specific provisions, the ordinary civil law ten-year statute of limitations applied to design infringement actions (Art. 2270-1 Civil Code). The limitation period ran from the date on which the damage occurred or worsened. The Law of 29 October 2007 extended the applicable period to three years, followed by the Law of 11 March 2014, which extended it to five years. Finally, the Law of 22 May 2019  set the starting point at the day when the proprietor of a right knew or should have known the last event enabling this right to be exercised. The limitation period for designs is now aligned with those for patents, plant varieties and trademarks. However, it differs from the limitation period for copyright infringement actions, which is ten years (Art. 2224 Civil Code).

Unlike actions for invalidity of designs, which are no longer subject to the statute of limitations since the Law of 22 May 2019 came into force (Art. L. 521-3-2 IP Code).

Law No 2019-486 of 22 May 2019 relating to the growth and transformation of undertakings, OJ of 23 May 2019.

Industrial Property Law

497. Statute of limitations

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Les notions juridiques connexes

497. Statute of limitations

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Les notions juridiques connexes

Demandez un accès gratuit
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