Chapter I: National Design Litigation

Any person having standing to bring an infringement action may apply to the competent civil court for summary proceedings in order to obtain an order, if necessary subject to a fine, against the alleged infringer or the intermediaries whose services he uses, for any measure intended to prevent imminent infringement of the rights conferred by the title or to prevent the continuation of acts alleged to be infringing. The competent civil court may also order any urgent measures on application where circumstances require that such measures not be taken in adversarial proceedings, in particular where any delay would be likely to cause irreparable harm to the applicant. Whether seised in summary proceedings or on application, the court may only order the measures requested if the evidence, reasonably accessible to the applicant, makes it likely that his rights are being infringed or that such infringement is imminent.

The court may prohibit the continuation of the allegedly infringing acts, make it conditional on the lodging of guarantees intended to ensure the possible compensation of the claimant or order the seizure or delivery into the hands of a third party of the products suspected of infringing the rights conferred by the title, in order to prevent their introduction or circulation in commercial channels. If the claimant proves circumstances likely to jeopardise the recovery of damages, the court may order the precautionary seizure of the alleged infringer's movable and immovable property, including the freezing of his bank accounts and other assets, in accordance with ordinary law. In order to determine the assets likely to be subject to seizure, it may order the communication of banking, financial, accounting or commercial documents or access to relevant information.

It may also award the claimant an advance where the existence of his loss is not seriously disputable.

In summary proceedings or on application, the court may make enforcement of the measures it orders subject to the provision by the claimant of guarantees intended to ensure possible compensation of the defendant if the infringement action is subsequently found to be unfounded or the measures annulled.

Where the measures taken to cease an infringement are ordered before an action is brought on the merits, the claimant must, within a period set by regulation, either take civil or criminal action or lodge a complaint with the public prosecutor. Failing this, at the request of the defendant and without the defendant having to state the grounds for his claim, the measures ordered shall be cancelled, without prejudice to any damages that may be claimed.