Week of 24 February 2025

Unfair terms between professionals
A sub-licensed producer is not justified in arguing that there is a significant imbalance resulting from the penalty clauses in the contracts for the award of sub-licenses for plant variety certificates to which he is a party, even if no financial penalty can be imposed at the same time on the licensee in the event of a dispute between the producer and the authorized commercial operators, where this situation is alien to that licensee, insofar as such clauses merely determine in a specific manner the penalties payable by the sub-licensee in the event of non-compliance with the right granted to him to exploit protected fruit varieties in order to guarantee the sustainability of the network to which he has affiliated himself, and the licensee fails to establish how such penalties are disproportionate.
CA Paris, 7 February 2025, No. 23/08470

Restrictive agreements
Where the nature of the varieties of fruit in question, which benefit from plant variety certificates, makes it necessary to establish a strict set of specifications to guarantee all the qualities required by the end consumer with regard to the standards defined by the breeder, the company licensed to use these certificates is bound to the owner to guarantee the quality of the products intended for the end consumer and may, within the framework of a selective distribution network, freely select authorized operators provided that such restrictions are justified in view of the particular nature of the protected varieties commercialized and compensated by the right granted to producers to cultivate these varieties under conditions that enable them to profit from them and do not place them at a competitive disadvantage.
CA Paris, 7 February 2025, No. 23/08470

Commercial leases
The obligation to deliver, which is a matter of public policy, cannot be subject to contractual arrangements insofar as it is the very essence of the commercial lease.
CA Rennes, 12 February 2025, No. 22/03611

Warranty against dispossession
In the absence of any express clause to the contrary, the seller is bound by the warranty against non-apparent and undeclared encumbrances at the time of sale.
Cass. 3e civ., 13 February 2025, No. 23-17.636

Forgery and use of forged documents
Under Article 441-4 of the Criminal Code, the harm caused by a forgery in an authentic instrument automatically stems from the damage caused to public faith (fides publica) and to public order due to forgery of this nature.
Cass. crim., 12 February 2025, No. 24-80.358