The Legal 500

(1) Patent law: the patentability of computer programs examined by the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office (2) Trademark law: Israel joins the International Trademark System (3) Trademark law: clarifications to the doctrine of exhaustion of rights

(INFORMATION DISCLOSURE STATEMENT)

According to amended Rule 141 EPC and new Rule 70b EPC, for all the European patent applications, European divisional applications and Euro‐PCT applications claiming priority of a previous application and filed on or after 1 January 2011, applicants will have to file a copy of the results of any search carried out by or on behalf of the Office of first filing, i.e. the Office with which the previous application was filed.

Domain names: limiting the jurisdiction of French courts in cases of infringement by foreign websites

Domain names: limiting the jurisdictionof French courts in cases ofinfringement by foreign websites 

Host or publisher? The January 14, 2010 ruling by the French Supreme Court in the Tiscali case

The “IIEESS” case offers a rare case of application by the courts of the provisions of law no. 98-536 dated July 1st, 1998, integrated in Art. L. 341-1 through L. 343-7 of the Intellectual Property Code (“IPC”)

(French Supreme Court, 1st Civil Division, November 27th, 2008)

In France, the sale or purchase of blank recording media (CD or DVD) is subject to a payment called “private copy levy”, which is due to authors, performing artists and producers of phonograms or videograms under Article L. 311-1 IPC.

(Paris Court of Appeal, January 23rd, 2009)

The “IIEESS” case offers a rare case of application by the courts of the provisions of law no. 98-536 dated July 1st, 1998, integrated in Art. L. 341-1 through L. 343-7 of the Intellectual Property Code (“IPC”).

The anti-infringement Act, which transposes European Directive 2004/48/EC of 29 April 2004 on the enforcement of intellectual property rights into French law, establishes provisions regarding the simplification of proceedings (1), regarding the right of victims of infringement to obtain information on the perpetrators of the infringement relating to the strengthening of penalties (3).

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Formalism of assignment of copyright: the Cour de cassation in favour of increasing the flexibility of the protection enjoyed by authors

French lawmakers have always been highly protective of author’s interests. For example, Article L. 131-3 of the Intellectual Property Code requires that rights assigned by an author must be restrictively listed and that their field of exploitation must be determined in terms of the scope, intended use, place and term.

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After many years, a case law position has developed concerning the application in trademark law of the parody exception existing in copyright law.

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The latest report1 issued by the Union des Fabricants (antiinfringment association) reports, figures in hand, a significant increase in infringment.

While infringment accounted for 5% of international trade in 2000, this figure is claimed to have stood at about 10% in 2005. The profits generated by infringment internationally is
estimated at EUR 400 billion a year.

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The law on copyright and related rights in the information society, adopted on 30 June 2006 by Parliament, was finally promulgated on 1 August 2006 (after consultation of the
Conseil Constitutionnel which had been referred to in respect of certain of its provisions).

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