Hermès v Birkin: Trademark protection beyond the guarantee of commercial origin

In a judgment of 25 March 2026, the Versailles Court of Appeal clarified the protection of trademarks in relation to their use in slogans or humorous statements.

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Trademarks – Chanel ‘upcycled’ jewellery: creativity is no defence to trade mark infringement

In a judgment dated 21 May 2026, the Paris Judicial Court ruled on the marketing of jewellery produced by upcycling luxury goods and on the limits of the exhaustion of rights exception in trade mark law.

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Ambush marketing: the Paris Court of Appeal rules against Lindt’s use of the Champs-Élysées illuminations

Since 1980, the Comité Champs-Élysées has organised the end-of-year illuminations on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, with significant investment funded by its members, the City of Paris and sponsors.

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Advertising visuals and the theory of incidental use: the defence of incidental use dismissed, infringement of the “Luxembourg” furniture range upheld

In this case, the designer Frédéric W. (creator of the “Luxembourg” range of garden furniture produced by Fermob) accused company B, which markets paints under the Syntilor brand, of having used, without authorisation, photographs of the chair, bench and table from the “Luxembourg” range for advertising purposes to promote its paint pots.

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Article L138-10-1 of the French Social Security Code: a misguided attempt to tackle ‘evergreening’

The new Article L138-10-1 of the French Social Security Code, introduced by the Social Security Financing Act (LFSS) for 2026, aims to combat ‘evergreening’ practices by pharmaceutical companies by introducing a tax when the entry of generics is unjustifiably delayed for more than one year after the expiry of the basic patent or supplementary protection certificate (SPC). The objective appears laudable: to discourage strategies designed to artificially prolong commercial exclusivity at the expense of public finances and generic manufacturers. However, on closer inspection, the measure raises serious difficulties, both in terms of patent law and the division of powers between administrative authorities and courts.

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Organic products: Competition Authority fines parties for a market allocation strategy between specialist retailers and large retailers

In its Decision No. 26-D-05 of 16 April 2026, the Competition Authority imposed a fine of €12.67 million on the National Union of Specialised Organic Product Distributors (Synadis Bio), as well as Greenweez (Carrefour), Les Comptoirs de la Bio and ITM Entreprises (Les Mousquetaires), for participating in a practice organising the allocation of brands between two competing distribution channels: specialist organic retailers (GSS) and large-scale food retailers (GSA).

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