The general provisions on applications for summons and on the calling on the defendant to answer the claims in such applications are contained in Chapter 42, Articles 1 to 6 of the Code on Judicial Procedure (as regards civil cases) and in Chapter 45, Articles 1 to 9 of the same Code (as regards penal proceedings). These provisions apply in intellectual property cases as well as in other cases. Dealing here only with civil cases and leaving details aside, the provisions prescribe basically the following. Anyone who desires the issuance of a summons shall file a written application in this respect to the competent court. The application shall be signed by the plaintiff or his attorney and shall contain indications about the circumstances upon which the action is founded, the demand for relief, the documentary evidence offered and the circumstances which make the court competent. Where the summons application fails to comply with the relevant requirements or is otherwise incomplete, the Court shall direct the plaintiff to cure the defect. Where such directives are not complied with, the result is generally that the application may be dismissed. If the application is not dismissed, the Court shall issue a summons calling upon the defendant to answer the claim. The summons together with the summons application and the documents annexed thereto (for instance evidence) shall be served upon the defendant. There are no explicit time-limits within which the Court has to serve that summons in civil cases. Neither are there, generally speaking, such time-limits in criminal cases; however, if the defendant is under arrest or detention, there are time-limits within which the prosecutor has to file an application for summons in the case. Those time-limits differ somewhat depending on the situation and the seriousness of the case. It would be too complicated to go into details on these issues here, more so as these situations do not occur frequently in intellectual property cases.
