| Adoption of the text on the enforcement of intellectual property rights |
| Wednesday, 21 November 2007 | |
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The Bill on the
enforcement of intellectual property rights, transposing into the
French law the Directive 2004/48/EC and the Directive
98/44/CE (relating to the protection of biotechnological inventions),
was published to the Official Journal the 30th
October 2007.
The text aims to reinforce the tool-set available in French Law, in order to protect the trademarks, patents, designs, and semi-conductor designs. It introduces into the French system, new mechanisms to fight counterfeiting, such as accelerated procedures and simplification of referral to the Courts in the case of urgency. An injunctive relief can order a periodic payment by way of a penalty in order to take any measures necessary to “prevent an imminent violation of the rights granted by (an intellectual property title) or prevent the alleged acts of counterfeiting”. A structural reform concerning the Courts competent to judge of counterfeiting cases regarding copyright, patents, trademarks, certificates of utility, designs as well as unfair competition actions linked with intellectual property rights infringement, is undertaken by the Bill. An Order in Council will determine the Courts which shall, in the future, have jurisdiction for such cases. The text condemns all types of infringement, even not committed in a commercial purpose.
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