Checklist of Issues on Enforcement under TRIPS Art. 63.2 - View details of the document

Gabon

(a) Civil judicial procedures and remedies

• In Gabon, the court which has jurisdiction over IPR infringement cases is the Court of First Instance of Libreville, specifically the civil chamber.
• According to the Gabonese Code of Criminal Procedure, only an injured person may file a petition; hence the maxim, "No interest, no action". Such injured persons may be represented by an attorney.
• The parties are obliged to communicate evidence to each other. • See Article 19 of the Gabonese Code of Civil Procedure (CPCG): "If one party possesses an item of evidence, the court may, at the request of the other party, require him to produce it under penalty of a fine. It may, at the request of one of the parties, demand under the same penalty the production of all documents in the possession of third parties where there is no lawful impediment, and provided that they have been implicated." • See Article 139 of the CPCG: "If documents are not produced, the court may be requested informally to order that they be made available. The court shall fix a time limit and the form of the communication, under penalty of a fine where necessary." The judicial authorities thus have the power to issue injunctions.
• See Article 139 of the CPCG: "If documents are not produced, the court may be requested informally to order that they be made available. The court shall fix a time limit and the form of the communication, under penalty of a fine where necessary." • Damages: See Article 1382 of the French Civil Code, which supplements the provisions of the Gabonese Civil Code.
• See Article 6 of the CPCG concerning parties: "Any malicious, vexatious or dilatory action not based on serious grounds constitutes misconduct giving entitlement to compensation. The same applies to unjustified resistance to a well-founded action.

(b) Administrative procedures and remedies

(a) Judicial measures

• Provisional measures are provided for in Article 438 of the CPCG: "The ordonnance de référé (interim order) is a provisional order given at the request of one party, the other party being present or having been summoned, in cases where the law confers upon a judge who has not been empowered to hear the main issue, the power to order the necessary measures immediately."
• See Article 22 of the CPCG concerning provisional measures: "No party may be judged without being heard or summoned."
• See Article 438 of the CPCG: "The ordonnance de référé (interim order) is a provisional order given at the request of one party, the other party being present or having been summoned, in cases where the law confers upon a judge who has not been empowered to hear the main issue, the power to order the necessary measures immediately." The presiding judge may: 1 in cases of urgency, order any measures to which there is no serious objection or which justify the existence of a dispute; 2 order any preventive or restitution measures needed either to prevent imminent injury or to stop a manifestly unlawful action; 3 grant the creditor an advance if the existence of the obligation cannot be seriously contested; 4 in cases of urgency, rule on problems related to the enforcement of a ruling or any other enforceable title if the enforcement judge is not hearing the case.
• It is difficult to estimate the length of the proceedings; in other words, the length has no limit. Cost: An application costs CFAF 20,000.

(b) Administrative measures

• In Gabon, all criminal law matters fall within the purview of the criminal courts.
• See Articles 325 and 326 of the Gabonese Criminal Code.
• The public authority responsible for the initiation of criminal proceedings is the Public Prosecutor. Criminal proceedings require the existence of a complaint by the injured party.
• Only the injured party has the right to initiate criminal proceedings. However, a consumer may also file a complaint in cases of fraudulent use of a trademark.
• See Articles 325 and 326 of the Gabonese Criminal Code.
• Proceedings are free of charge and of indefinite duration.