{"id":8925,"date":"2026-08-03T14:29:06","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T12:29:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cabinetbouchara.com\/concurrence-deloyale\/"},"modified":"2026-10-19T14:12:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T12:12:00","slug":"unfair-competition","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.cabinetbouchara.com\/en\/cabinet-bouchara-lyon\/unfair-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"Unfair competition"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Unfair competition lawyers in Lyon<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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Is a competitor copying your offering, approaching your clients using confidential data, or publicly calling your products into question? Your business may equally find itself accused of copying a concept, a campaign or a customer journey.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based in the Lyon metropolitan area, Cabinet Bouchara & Avocats assists businesses facing unfair competition or free-riding, whether as claimant or defendant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our team examines the facts, secures the evidence and works out with the business whether to negotiate, act urgently or go to court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talk to our team in Lyon<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our unfair competition services in Lyon<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Unfair competition and free-riding fall under civil liability where wrongful conduct causes loss to a business (French Civil Code, art. 1240<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cabinet Bouchara & Avocats assists Lyon businesses faced with acts of unfair competition or free-riding. Our lawyers act both as claimant and as defendant, from preserving the evidence through to negotiation or court proceedings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analysing the facts and preserving the evidence<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Similarity between two offerings, approaching a competitor’s clients or hiring an employee often fall within the normal play of competition and are not, in themselves, enough to establish fault.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our lawyers examine the facts in chronological order, compare the offerings or practices at issue and check whether they go beyond the normal play of competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our first priority is to secure evidence that may disappear. Depending on what is needed, we instruct a judicial commissioner, review commercial and financial records, or apply for an investigative measure to obtain documents held by the other party (French Code of Civil Procedure, art. 145<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Putting a stop to copying or a likelihood of confusion<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A competitor may take up the get-up of a product, a company’s visual codes, the layout of a website, packaging or a sales pitch without directly reproducing a registered trademark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We compare the offerings as a whole and check whether the similarities reflect industry practice or create a real likelihood of confusion for customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Depending on the urgency, we send a cease-and-desist letter, negotiate the withdrawal of the disputed material, or apply to the court in summary or main proceedings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where the facts also engage trademark law<\/a>, copyright<\/a> or design protection<\/a>, we can bring infringement proceedings in parallel. An application for customs intervention<\/strong> may also be filed to help detect and detain suspect goods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Responding to commercial disparagement<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Statements circulated to customers, distributors or partners, or posted on social media, can damage a business’s commercial reputation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have the statements preserved, identify their author and measure how widely they spread, before seeking their removal or compensation for the loss suffered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also check whether the statements amount to disparagement<\/a> or to defamation, since different rules apply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acting against client poaching or disruption of your business<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The departure of an employee, a commercial agent or a partner is sometimes followed by rapid and closely targeted approaches to the client base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We check where the information used came from, which obligations apply and whether those approaches went beyond the limits of lawful competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where the facts involve the use of contact details, client files or other personal data, the case may also raise GDPR and data protection issues in Lyon<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We distinguish between acts committed before the employee left, those carried out afterwards, and those for which the new employer may be held responsible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Protecting your investments against free-riding<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Free-riding may be established where a business unduly profits from the work, the reputation or the investment of another operator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The firm acts in particular where a campaign, a brand universe, a digital journey, a launch strategy or a sufficiently developed concept has been taken up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We document the investment actually made and what the competitor took without putting in comparable work. Taking up an idea, a trend or a general concept is not, in itself, enough to establish free-riding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defending a business facing a claim<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We also defend businesses served with a cease-and-desist letter or a claim for unfair competition or free-riding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The defence may turn on the absence of fault, the commonplace nature of the elements taken up, the absence of any likelihood of confusion, the lawfulness of the approaches made, or the absence of proven loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We review the evidence produced, the calculation of the loss and the proportionality of the measures sought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Assessing the loss suffered<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Loss is not limited to a drop in turnover. We assess it in particular on the basis of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n