This is an informal case summary prepared for the purposes of facilitating exchange during the 2025 WIPO IP Judges Forum.
Session 7: Calculation of Damages in Civil Proceedings
Cassation Court, Commercial Chamber, France [2025]: Case No. 23-22.122
Date of judgment: April 9, 2025
Issuing authority: Cassation Court
Level of the issuing authority: Final Instance
Type of procedure: Judicial (Commercial)
Subject matter: Competition (Unfair Competition), Enforcement of IP and Related Laws
Plaintiff: Uber France
Defendant: Taxi drivers
Keywords: Civil and commercial law, unfair competition, damages, compensation
Basic facts: From February 2014 to July 2015, Uber France operated a service, under the name "UberPop," that, through a mobile application, connected individuals - some offering rides with their own vehicles, others seeking transportation. Taxi drivers argued that this service violated the regulations governing paid private transport. They brought an action against Uber France for unfair competition, seeking compensation for both economic and moral damages.
On October 4, 2023, the Paris Court of Appeal ordered Uber to compensate the plaintiffs for their economic and moral losses. Uber France appealed the decision before the Cassation Court (which is the Supreme Court in France).
Held: The French Cassation Court reiterated that damages may be assessed by taking into consideration the undue advantage gained by the perpetrator of unfair competition, to the detriment of its competitors, adjusted in proportion to the business volumes of the affected parties (Cass. com., 12 février 2020, Cristal de Paris, n° 17-31.614).
It added, however, that when the perpetrator of the unfair practice proves that the competitor has suffered no loss, no lost profit, and no lost opportunity, the perpetrator is only required to compensate for moral damage, which is irrefutably presumed.
Relevant holdings in relation to Calculation of Damages in Civil Proceedings: An interesting parallel can be drawn with intellectual property. In infringement cases, the victim may be compensated for negative economic consequences (lost profit and loss suffered) and for moral damages (French IP Code: art. L.331-1-3 in copyright, L.521-7 in designs, L.615-7 in patents, L.623-28 in plant varieties, L.716-4-10 in trademarks, L.722-6 in geographical indications). In addition, the victim may obtain an order requiring the infringer to pay over the profits earned and the savings made with the infringement.
As in the Cristal de Paris case, and in line with EU law, compensation therefore extends beyond the victim’s own losses to include the undue advantages obtained by the infringer through their unlawful acts.
Relevant legislation: Article 1240 (previously 1382) of the French Civil Code, setting the principle of personal civil liability for fault.