While the new Regulation (EU) 608/2013, concerning customs control of IP rights, has been in force since January 1, 2014, the French Senate had a second and final reading on February 26 of a draft law strengthening the fight against counterfeiting, which was then adopted.
As regards infringement actions, the new law provides for an increase in the civil damages awarded to victims of infringement, taking into account to a greater degree the profit made by the infringer (Article 2), including the savings that he could have made due to the infringement. It should be noted that a lump sum can be allocated instead. In this case, the amount is higher than the amount of royalties/fees that would normally have been paid if authorisation had been requested from the rights holder.
The implementation of the right to information about counterfeiting (Article 3) is clarified and can be obtained before a condemnation on the merits. The infringement seizure proceeding for copyright is harmonised with those for IP rights (Article 4). Furthermore, the different limitation periods in the French IP Code are harmonised with the normal limitation period of five years.
Customs powers
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IP infringement, counterfeiting,
