Due to the relocation of the IP specialized Chamber of the Paris Court of first instance, scheduled for April 18, 2018, a very light service will be held from April 1 until May 14.

The hearings on the merits will be held normally until April 13 and will start again on May 14. No judgment on the merits will be rendered between April 9 and May 22.

No filing of request for saisie-contrefaçon or accelerated proceedings on the merits will be possible before the IP specialized Chamber between April 13 and May 14 with the exception of three dates (May 3, 7 and 9).

It is therefore appropriate to file saisie-contrefaçon requests in March 2018 at the latest, and preferably before March 19, 2018.

No hearing date for a preliminary injunction (PI) will be granted by the IP specialized Chamber during the light service period, except for the periods from April 1 to April 13 and April 30 to May 11 but only in cases of a characterized urgency (very high hurdle) and with a prior submission to the Presidency of the Tribunal. It is therefore necessary to anticipate the filing of PIs in a similar manner as for the saisie-contrefaçon above, as to anticipate possible delay in the subsequent scheduling of PI hearing dates.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.