French Intellectual Property Code (CPI)

The CPI is the Code de la propriété intellectuelle — the French Intellectual Property Code. It gathers in one codified statute both copyright provisions and industrial property provisions; the broad term “intellectual property” was deliberately chosen. (Some court decisions mistakenly cite a “Code de la propriété industrielle” — no such code exists; only the Intellectual Property Code does.)

Where trademark law sits

Trademark law is covered in Book 7 of the CPI. For a US reader, the CPI’s trademark provisions are the functional counterpart of the Lanham Act, but within a civil-law codification: the CPI contains the rules on infringement actions (action en contrefaçon) and the rules governing all proceedings before the INPI, including oppositions and the administrative revocation and invalidity procedures.

Structure

The CPI has two parts:

• a legislative part (articles “L.”), voted by Parliament;
• a regulatory part (articles “R.”), created by decree of the minister in charge of intellectual property.

This L./R. numbering explains citations like “Article L.711-2 CPI” that US counsel will encounter in French opinions and correspondence.

The CPI is essential for French trademarks and INPI proceedings, and it evolves regularly — the article protecting reputed marks (marque de renommée), for instance, has been amended several times in recent years.

See also: trademark law, French trademark, trademark cancellation.

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