By Raphaël MORENON
21 March 2025
Seizure for infringement is a formidable weapon in the legal arsenal of intellectual property rights holders. This evidentiary procedure, which is an exception to ordinary law, makes it possible to obtain proof of infringement even before bringing an action on the merits. Jurisdictional rules The exclusive jurisdiction of the judicial court Only the president of the judicial court is competent to authorise a seizure for counterfeiting. The Commercial Chamber of the Court of Cassation made this clear in its ruling of 14 September 2010: no other court can order such a measure. Neither the commercial court (TGI Lyon, 20 March 1995), nor the pre-trial judge (Civ. 1re, 5 February 2014, no. 12-25.492), nor the enforcement judge have this jurisdiction. This exclusivity is explained by the evidentiary rather than conservatory nature of the proceedings. Territorial specialisation The 2009 reform radically altered the judicial map in intellectual property matters. For...
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