In a software infringement case, the Court of Cassation has just reiterated the method for calculating compensation.

It must be assessed based on the number of actual users of the disputed application, i.e. those who have purchased a licence to use it, and not based on the number of installations of the application.

The Court of Appeal had recognised the existence of acts of infringement but limited the compensation for the plaintiff company’s loss to an amount calculated on the basis of the number of customers using the disputed application. The publisher argued that the infringing mass should include every act of reproduction of the software.

In a ruling dated 3 September 2025 (appeal no. 24-13.155), the First Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation dismissed the appeal. It considered that the Court of Appeal had correctly compensated for the negative economic consequences of the infringement by taking into account the number of licences actually purchased by users, rather than the number of installations of the software.

The principle remains that of full compensation for the damage caused by the infringement, without loss or profit for the injured party.