Civil action for compensation
Obtain a court judgment for copyright infringement — no mandatory lawyer for small disputes, from a few hundred euros.
When to use this remedy
Civil action is the final-level remedy: you bring the case directly before a court to obtain a judgment ordering the infringer to stop and to compensate your loss. It's the only remedy that results in a binding decision without depending on a platform's goodwill or a prosecutor's discretion.
Use this path when:
- Platform takedown and cease and desist have failed or been ignored
- The criminal complaint was dismissed
- The infringement is economically quantifiable and significant
- You can document your loss (lost earnings, unpaid licenses, unauthorized commercial use)
- The amount at stake is under €10,000 (above that, legal representation becomes mandatory and the cost-benefit calculation changes)
- You have already attempted amicable resolution (mandatory before filing for disputes under €5,000)
Civil action is the only remedy that produces a binding judgment. The court orders cessation of the infringement and sets the damages.
How to proceed
Civil action follows a codified procedure. Each step conditions the next.
Verify your dispute is quantifiable. Civil action requires you to put a figure on your harm: lost revenue from the unauthorized use, commercial value of the license you should have received, documented moral harm. Without a precise amount, the claim will be difficult to pursue.
Complete the mandatory prior amicable attempt if your claim is under €5,000. Article 750-1 of the Code of Civil Procedure (decree no. 2023-357 of May 11, 2023) makes a conciliation, mediation, or collaborative procedure attempt mandatory before any court filing — on pain of inadmissibility. A cease and desist letter alone does not satisfy this requirement. Use a free conciliateur de justice or a certified mediator. Keep written proof of the attempt.
Identify the competent court. For copyright infringement in France, jurisdiction is exclusive to a limited list of specialized tribunaux judiciaires: Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux, Marseille, Lille, Rennes, Strasbourg, and Fort-de-France (decree no. 2009-1205 of October 9, 2009 and its amendments). You cannot file at your local courthouse — you must go to the specialized court in whose jurisdiction the defendant is domiciled or the offense occurred.
Choose your filing method. Two options: by petition (requête) for claims ≤ €5,000 (a letter filed with the clerk of the competent court, no commissaire de justice needed); or by summons (assignation) for any amount (a formal document served by a commissaire de justice — expect €150 to €300 for this act alone).
Compile your evidence file. The civil court will examine: proof of your rights over the work, your proof of prior authorship (ETcH ZIP + Etherscan hash), documentation of the infringement (dated screenshots, URLs), and quantification of your loss.
Attend the hearing. For disputes under €10,000, you may represent yourself. You may also be assisted by a person of your choice with a written power of attorney. The judge hears both parties and examines the evidence. A decision generally comes within weeks or months following the hearing.
Cost and expected timeline
Cost
A few hundred euros
Average timeline
Months
Success rate
High when evidence is solid
Lawyer required
No (disputes under €10,000)
Indicative cost: court filing by petition (a few dozen euros) or service by commissaire de justice (€150 to €300) + potential travel to the specialized court + expert fees if requested. No mandatory lawyer for disputes under €10,000.
What proof to provide
Civil copyright action is a delictual claim — it does not require proving the infringer's intent (unlike the criminal route). It only needs to establish the material facts.
Before the court, you must demonstrate:
- That you are the author or rights holder — which the ETcH bundle documents by tracing the creative trajectory (moodboard, sketches, intermediate versions, final file)
- That your work predated the copy — which blockchain anchoring proves with an opposable, publicly verifiable date
- The material reality of the infringement — dated screenshots, URLs, copies of the infringing work
- The quantum of your loss — lost licenses, lost revenue, moral harm
This is precisely what you attach to your petition or summons:
- The ETcH proof ZIP (or its session hash and corresponding Etherscan link)
- The proof manifest with the list of hashed files and their individual fingerprints
- Dated screenshots of the infringement
- Any document quantifying the loss (standard license rate, impacted revenue, etc.)
Elements to include in the claim
Your petition or summons must contain:
- Your full contact details and the defendant's
- The precise object of your claim: cessation of the infringement + compensation for loss (as a specific amount)
- The legal basis: Article L.335-2 or L.335-3 of the Code de la propriété intellectuelle (copyright infringement), and Article L.331-1-3 of the CPI for the calculation of damages
- A description of the facts: nature of the work, date of creation and anchoring, date of discovery of the infringement, nature of the harm
- Attached evidence: ETcH ZIP, Etherscan hash, dated screenshots, proof of amicable attempt (mandatory for < €5,000)
- If you are seeking an emergency measure (immediate injunction to stop distribution), mention a référé application separately — it is a distinct urgent procedure
Be factual and precise. Describe the facts and quantify the harm — the court evaluates a file, not indignation.
Going further
Official resources for preparing your court filing:
For disputes over €10,000, legal representation is mandatory. The CNB directory helps you find an IP specialist.
Limits of this remedy
Civil action is the most conclusive remedy — but also the most demanding.
- Exclusive jurisdiction to specialized courts: for copyright matters in France, you cannot file at any court. Jurisdiction is reserved to a limited number of specialized tribunaux judiciaires (Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux, Marseille, Lille, Rennes, Strasbourg, Fort-de-France). This may require travel or remote dealings with a distant court
- Mandatory prior amicable attempt for disputes under €5,000 (Art. 750-1 CPC, decree no. 2023-357 of May 11, 2023) — on pain of inadmissibility. Factor this delay into your strategy
- The timeline can be long: depending on the court's caseload, a judgment may come 6 months to over a year after filing
- Enforcement is your responsibility: if the defendant does not comply voluntarily, you will need to mandate a commissaire de justice for forced enforcement — additional cost
- Quantifying harm is difficult for artistic works with no standardized market price. Without a reference license rate, the judge will set damages at their discretion
- Above €10,000, a lawyer is mandatory — the cost-benefit calculation changes substantially
In these cases, assess whether civil action remains proportionate to the issue, or whether professional mediation could resolve things faster and at lower cost.