FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Vanessa Bouchara, Adèle Maier and Louise Lacroix, Cabinet Bouchara
infringement, and the licensor did not respond in a reasonable time. Non-exclusive licensees are not allowed to file infringement actions. They may, however, inter - vene in the action for infringement and have their own prejudice determined if an infringe - ment action is initiated by the owner and/or the exclusive licensee. Issuing a formal cease and desist letter is a legal prerequisite to filing an infringement lawsuit. However, failure to send a letter of formal notice beforehand will not invalidate the action. As regards restrictions on the owner asserting its rights, the owner may be liable for the following, depending on its behaviour: • abusive action; • denigration, if the owner publicly accuses the defendant of infringement without any court decision stating so; or • obstruction of competition, in case of abusive action against distributors benefiting from the principle of exhaustion of rights. 7.5 Lawsuit Procedure Only ten regional courts have special jurisdic - tion for handling infringement proceedings: Bor - deaux, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nanterre, Nancy, Paris, Rennes, Strasbourg and Fort-de-France. Before filing a lawsuit, some costs are neces - sarily incurred due to the execution of bailiff’s reports, the drafting of a request for infringement seizure and the execution of counterfeit seizure operations by a bailiff, as well as the drafting and sending of a letter of formal notice.
Foreign copyright owners may bring infringe - ment claims in France if the infringing acts are committed in France. However, an infringement lawsuit cannot be based on a foreign trade mark that does not have any effect in France. 7.6 Declaratory Judgment Proceedings and Other Protections for Potential Defendants There are no declaratory judgments in France. 7.7 Small Claims There are no alternative forms of lawsuits for small claims. 7.8 Effect of Trade Mark and Copyright Office Decisions Judges are not bound by the decisions of the FTO. They may use these decisions in the course of developing their motivations and take them into account in their assessment, but they are not bound by them. 7.9 Counterfeiting and Bootlegging The factors taken into account to establish infringement are set out in 7.3 Factors in Deter- mining Infringement . There is no specific proce - dure, remedy or statute addressing bootlegging. 8. Litigating Trade Mark and Copyright Claims 8.1 Special Procedural Provisions for Trade Mark or Copyright Proceedings The specialised courts with exclusive jurisdiction are listed in 7.5 Lawsuit Procedure . Intellectual property cases are determined by specialised and technical judges rather than a jury, and the parties do not have any influence on who is the decision-maker.
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