How to Obtain a Preliminary Injunction for IP Infringement in France (ordonnance De Référé), Step‑by‑step (2026)

Understanding how to obtain a preliminary injunction in France is essential for any rights‑holder facing ongoing or imminent intellectual‑property infringement on French territory. The ordonnance de référé, an interim order issued by the President of the Tribunal judiciaire, is the principal mechanism for securing urgent injunctive relief in France across patents, trademarks, designs and copyrights. This guide sets out the complete procedure for 2026, including the eligibility standard under the Code de procédure civile (articles 808 et seq.), a documents‑and‑evidence checklist, a realistic timeline, indicative costs, and the procedural changes that practitioners should factor into their enforcement strategy this year.

Overview of the process and who it applies to

French law draws a clear line between provisional measures (mesures provisoires) and final judgments on the merits. The ordonnance de référé belongs to the first category: it is a fast‑track interlocutory order designed to prevent irreparable harm while the substantive case is pending or before proceedings on the merits are even commenced. It does not determine the parties’ rights definitively, and it can be revoked or modified if circumstances change.

The procedure is available to any holder of a registered or unregistered IP right, including French national trademarks registered at INPI, European Union trade marks registered at EUIPO, patents, designs, and copyright works, provided the conditions of urgency and apparent validity of the claim are met. It is also routinely used alongside the saisie‑contrefaçon (seizure for infringement), which serves as a powerful evidence‑gathering step unique to French IP enforcement.

The statutory basis sits in the Code de procédure civile, principally articles 808 and 809. Article 808 empowers the juge des référés to order any measure that does not encounter serious contestation or that is justified by the existence of a dispute. Article 809 allows the court to prescribe protective or restorative measures even where a serious contestation exists, provided there is an “obviously unlawful disturbance” (trouble manifestement illicite), a standard frequently invoked in IP infringement cases.

Eligibility and prerequisites for an interim injunction in France

Before drafting the application, counsel should verify that the case satisfies the cumulative requirements the President of the Tribunal judiciaire will assess at the hearing.

Legal standard

Under Article 808 CPC, the applicant must demonstrate urgency (urgence) and the absence of a serious contestation (absence de contestation sérieuse). Alternatively, under Article 809 CPC, the applicant can bypass the “no serious contestation” requirement by showing that the infringement constitutes an obviously unlawful disturbance or that the measures are needed to prevent imminent damage (dommage imminent). In IP matters, French courts routinely accept a prima facie case of infringement coupled with evidence of commercial harm as satisfying the Article 809 threshold.

Standing and territorial scope

The applicant must hold or be exclusively licensed to enforce the relevant IP right in France. Chain‑of‑title documentation, from original registration through any assignments or licence agreements, is essential. The Tribunal judiciaire with jurisdiction is generally the court in whose district the infringement takes place or the defendant is domiciled. For patents and certain EU‑wide rights, the Tribunal judiciaire de Paris has exclusive or centralised competence.

Special rule: interaction with saisie‑contrefaçon

For patents, trademarks and designs, French law provides the saisie‑contrefaçon, a court‑authorised seizure of evidence performed by a huissier de justice at the alleged infringer’s premises. This procedure is typically carried out before or in parallel with the référé application. The evidence obtained through saisie‑contrefaçon materially strengthens the référé dossier by giving the court authenticated, contemporaneous proof of infringement.

How to obtain a preliminary injunction in France: step‑by‑step procedure

Step 1, Preserve evidence and gather proof of infringement

Immediate evidence preservation is the foundation of every successful référé application. In‑house counsel or the instructed avocat should take the following actions without delay:

1. Capture online evidence. Use forensic screen‑capture tools (with URL, timestamp and hash metadata) to preserve infringing product listings, advertisements and social‑media posts. Simple screenshots without metadata are increasingly challenged.
2. Instruct a huissier de justice for a constat or saisie‑contrefaçon. The huissier produces an authenticated record (procès‑verbal) of the infringement. For a saisie‑contrefaçon, an ex parte authorisation from the President of the Tribunal judiciaire is required beforehand.
3. Collect commercial proof. Assemble invoices, purchase orders, customs records and supply‑chain documentation that demonstrate the scope and scale of the infringement.
4. Obtain or update registration certificates. Download current extracts from INPI, EUIPO or WIPO databases confirming the status, ownership and territorial coverage of each IP right.

This evidence‑gathering phase typically takes 1–14 days, depending on the complexity of the infringement and whether a saisie‑contrefaçon is conducted.

Step 2, Draft and file the référé application with the Tribunal judiciaire

The assignation en référé is a formal writ prepared by the claimant’s avocat and served on the defendant by a huissier de justice. It must contain:

1. A summary of facts establishing the infringement.
2. The legal grounds (articles 808 or 809 CPC; applicable IP code provisions).
3. A precise description of the measures sought, injunction to cease infringement, recall of goods, disclosure of supply‑chain information, periodic penalty payments (astreinte), and any preservation orders.
4. A complete list of supporting exhibits, numbered and tabulated.
5. A signed power of attorney (mandat) from the rights‑holder to the avocat.

Service on the defendant must comply with the rules of the Code de procédure civile, personal service via huissier is standard. Once served, the application is filed with the court registry (greffe), and the President of the Tribunal judiciaire schedules the hearing date.

Step 3, Attend the urgent hearing before the President of the Tribunal judiciaire

The audience de référé is a single, relatively concise hearing, typically lasting 30 to 90 minutes, before the President sitting alone. Both parties present oral arguments and refer the court to their written submissions and exhibits. Key practical points:

• Burden of proof. The applicant bears the initial burden of establishing a prima facie case. The court does not conduct a full merits assessment; it evaluates whether infringement is sufficiently likely and whether the harm justifies interim protection.
• Urgency. The court will examine whether the applicant acted promptly. Unexplained delay between discovery of the infringement and the filing may undermine the urgency argument.
• Proportionality. The President weighs the harm to the applicant against the disruption the injunction would cause to the defendant’s business.
• Ex parte orders. Truly ex parte référé orders (without notice to the defendant) are rare in French IP practice. The more common ex parte mechanism is the authorisation for saisie‑contrefaçon, granted before the adversarial hearing.

The President may issue the ordonnance de référé immediately at the end of the hearing or reserve judgment, typically delivering the order within 48 to 72 hours.

Step 4, Enforce the ordonnance de référé

An ordonnance de référé is provisionally enforceable by operation of law (exécution provisoire de droit). Enforcement is carried out by a huissier de justice, who serves the order on the defendant and, where applicable, proceeds to seize infringing goods, block access to websites, or supervise the recall of products. If the court has imposed an astreinte (periodic penalty), non‑compliance triggers financial sanctions that accumulate daily until the defendant complies.

Counsel should plan the enforcement logistics, identifying the huissier, coordinating with customs authorities if border seizures are needed, and notifying online intermediaries, before the hearing, so that execution can begin on the day the order is issued.

Step 5, Respond to or lodge an appeal

The losing party may appeal the ordonnance de référé to the Cour d’appel. The appeal does not automatically suspend enforcement: the order remains provisionally enforceable unless the appellate court orders otherwise. The appeal is heard under an urgent track, and the Cour d’appel reviews the case afresh on the facts and the law. The defendant may also apply to the juge des référés to modify or revoke the order if new circumstances arise.

Step 6, Transition from interlocutory relief to merits proceedings

The ordonnance de référé is inherently provisional. To convert interim measures into a permanent injunction and to obtain damages, the rights‑holder must initiate or continue proceedings on the merits (action au fond) before the Tribunal judiciaire. The interim measures remain in force until the court on the merits delivers its judgment or modifies them. Failure to pursue the merits case in a timely manner may lead the defendant to seek revocation of the provisional measures.

Required documents and evidence checklist for urgent injunctive relief in France

The strength of the référé application depends entirely on the quality and completeness of the evidence file. The table below lists the documents needed for a typical IP interim injunction application, together with practical notes on format, issuer and authentication requirements.

Every exhibit should be clearly numbered, paginated and cross‑referenced in the body of the assignation en référé. Courts increasingly expect digital evidence to include forensic metadata; simple PDF printouts without timestamps or hash values carry less weight.

Timeline and key deadlines for obtaining a preliminary injunction in France

The table below sets out the typical duration of each stage in the référé process. Actual timelines vary depending on the court’s calendar, the complexity of the case and whether a saisie‑contrefaçon is conducted beforehand.

In the most urgent cases, where infringement is flagrant and evidence is already in hand, the entire process from filing to enforceable order can be completed in as little as 2 to 3 weeks. Where a saisie‑contrefaçon precedes the référé, the overall timeline typically extends to 3 to 6 weeks. The provisional measures remain in force until the court on the merits delivers judgment, unless the juge des référés or the Cour d’appel modifies or revokes them earlier.

Costs, fees and financial considerations

The table below provides indicative cost ranges for obtaining an interim injunction in France. Actual costs depend on the complexity of the IP right, the scope of evidence gathering and the city in which the proceedings are brought (Paris rates are at the higher end).

The prevailing party may recover part of its legal costs from the losing party under Article 700 CPC, which allows the court to award a lump‑sum contribution towards fees and expenses. VAT at the standard French rate applies to avocat and huissier fees for business clients. All figures above are exclusive of VAT.

What changes in 2026: practical impacts on the référé procedure

The 2025–2026 period has brought several procedural developments that affect how practitioners approach urgent injunctive relief in France.

Décret n° 2025‑47, published in the Journal officiel in January 2025, introduced targeted amendments to civil procedure rules, including streamlined scheduling provisions for urgent hearings. Early indications suggest that this has reduced average waiting times for référé hearings at busier tribunals, particularly in Paris. Ordonnance n° 2025‑1091 further modernised aspects of appellate procedure, with the likely practical effect of tightening timelines for interlocutory appeals.

Additionally, the maturation of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) since its launch in June 2023 has reshaped forum‑selection strategy. For European patents, rights‑holders now choose between the UPC’s provisional‑measures procedure and the traditional French référé. Industry observers expect continued growth in UPC filings for multi‑jurisdictional disputes, but the French référé remains the preferred route for national‑right enforcement, trade mark cases, design disputes, copyright and mixed‑IP portfolios where the UPC has no jurisdiction.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

• Insufficient evidence authentication. Screenshots without timestamps, hash values or huissier attestation are routinely challenged. Always use forensic capture tools or instruct a huissier for a constat.
• Delayed filing undermining urgency. Waiting weeks or months after discovering the infringement signals to the court that the matter is not truly urgent. File as soon as evidence is assembled.
• Incomplete chain of title. Failure to record assignments or licences at the IP office before filing may deprive the applicant of standing. Verify and update registrations immediately.
• Wrong court or wrong procedure. Patent matters in France must be brought before the Tribunal judiciaire de Paris. Filing in the wrong court wastes time and may result in dismissal.
• Vague or disproportionate relief requests. Asking for overly broad injunctions invites the court to refuse or narrow the order. Draft measures that are specific, enforceable and proportionate.
• Neglecting enforcement logistics. An ordonnance de référé is worthless without swift execution. Identify the huissier, coordinate with customs and notify online platforms before the hearing.
• Unrealistic ex parte expectations. Contested référé hearings are the norm; truly ex parte injunctions are exceptional. Budget time for the adversarial hearing rather than relying on obtaining an order without notice.
• Failing to pursue merits proceedings. Provisional measures are temporary. If the rights‑holder does not initiate or continue the action au fond, the defendant can seek revocation of the injunction.

Conclusion

Obtaining a preliminary injunction in France remains one of the fastest and most effective enforcement tools available to IP rights‑holders in Europe. The ordonnance de référé procedure, grounded in articles 808 and 809 of the Code de procédure civile, delivers enforceable interim relief in as little as two to three weeks when the evidence is properly assembled and the application is filed promptly. Success depends on early evidence preservation, ideally through a saisie‑contrefaçon, meticulous documentation, and advance planning for enforcement.

With the 2025–2026 procedural updates streamlining hearing schedules and the UPC era prompting fresh forum‑selection analysis, practitioners seeking to know how to obtain a preliminary injunction in France should treat this procedure as a core component of any cross‑border IP enforcement strategy. Engaging experienced French IP litigation counsel at the earliest opportunity significantly improves both the speed and the outcome of the application. A directory of qualified lawyers in France is available for rights‑holders seeking specialist representation.

Sources

1. Legifrance, Code de procédure civile, Article 808 et seq.
2. Service‑public.fr, Le référé (civil emergency procedure)
3. Taylor Wessing, Preliminary injunctions in France (2025)
4. CMS Expert Guide, Preliminary Injunctions in IP (France)
5. Bardehle Pagenberg, Preliminary injunction in patent cases (January 2026)
6. Cambridge University Press, Injunctions in Patent Law (France chapter)
7. Legifrance, Décret n° 2025‑47 (procedural updates)
8. Vie‑publique, Ordonnance n° 2025‑1091
9. INPI, Institut national de la propriété industrielle
10. EUIPO, European Union Intellectual Property Office