In France, unlike for instance in the United States or United Kingdom, the scope of attorneyclient privilege is restricted to attorneys-at-law registered with a bar and acting independently (within an independent law firm or...more
The UPC, a single patent court for European Union Member States, has published the first statistics on its case load since its establishment in 2023. Between June 1, 2023, and January 31, 2024, a total of 196 cases were filed...more
Paris-based Jones Day partner Thomas Bouvet talks about the challenges involved in gathering evidence and the most difficult aspects of trade secret litigation in France. He also discusses the remedies available to wronged...more
The Situation: Provisions of the Action Plan for the Growth and Transformation of Enterprises Act ("PACTE Act") concerning the newly created provisional patent application and the strengthening of the utility certificate are...more
The Background: The Action Plan for the Growth and Transformation of Enterprises Act ("PACTE Act") adopted on April 11, 2019 and promulgated on May 23, 2019, brings three important changes aimed at strengthening French...more
Context: French Decree No. 2018-1126 of 11 December 2018 on the protection of trade secrets, enacted in application of Act No. 2018-670 of 30 July 2018, establishes rules to preserve trade secrets in the context of civil and...more
The Background: French Decree No. 2018-1126, which is intended to enhance the protection of documents containing confidential information, became effective following publication in the Official Journal.
The Result: The...more
The Decision: The French Cour de cassation, in a case concerning a dosage regime patent, recently clarified the "plausibility" requirement, an element of sufficiency of disclosure or inventive step.
The Result: The wording...more
The Situation: The French Intellectual Property Office ("IPO") previously refused to adjust the expiration date of a granted supplementary protection certificate ("SPCs") when it had been calculated on the date of grant of...more
On April 28, 2017, the French tribunal de grande instance de Paris issued an interesting decision regarding both standing to sue and statute of limitations applicable to patent revocation actions....more