Infringement found abroad

Infringement can be found outside France: unauthorized reuse in a foreign market, plagiarism published from another country, or a copy sold internationally.

Your proof of prior existence can still be used in this context. The fingerprint and timestamp of your creation are recorded in a public registry (Tezos), which anyone can check for free from any country, without relying on a French authority. The resulting certificate is therefore not limited to use in France.

The question then becomes whether it is admissible before the court hearing the case, which depends on local law. Within the European Union, the eIDAS Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 on electronic trust services) prohibits refusing an electronic timestamp solely because it is in electronic form. Several countries already recognize this type of evidence in their law or case law (notably Italy, China and the United States). Others assess it case by case, with no settled framework yet.

If you receive individual support, it can help you describe the facts in legal terms and structure your evidence file. For an action before a foreign court, you still need to contact a lawyer admitted in the country concerned, who alone can assess the local procedure and admissibility.

This article is for general information only and does not replace advice from a legal professional licensed in the country concerned.