Part One: Literary and Artistic Property

Book I: Copyright

Title I: Subject of Copyright

Chapter I: Nature of Copyright     

Chapter II: Protected Works     

Chapter III: Owners of Copyright     

Title II: Authors’ Rights

Chapter I: Moral Rights     

Chapter II: Economic Rights     

Chapter III: Term of Protection     

Title III: Exploitation of Rights

Chapter I: General Provisions     

Chapter II: Special Provisions for Certain Contracts

Section 1: Publishing Contracts     

Section 2: Performance Contracts     L. 132-18 - L. 132-22

Section 3: Audiovisual Production Contracts     L. 132-23 - L. 132-30

Section 4: Commission Contracts for Advertising     L. 132-31 - L. 132-33

Section 5: Pledging the Right to Exploit Software     L. 132-34

Book II: Neighboring rights

Sole Title     [Untitled]

Chapter I: General Provisions     

Chapter II: Rights of Performers     

Chapter III: Rights of Phonogram Producers     

Chapter IV: Provisions Common to Performers and Phonogram Producers     

Chapter V: Rights of Videogram Producers     

Chapter VI: Rights of Audiovisual Communication Enterprises     

Chapter VII: Provisions Applicable to Satellite Broadcasting and Cable Retransmission     

Book III: General Provisions

Title I: Remuneration for Private Copying

Sole Chapter: [Untitled]     

Title II: Royalty Collection and Distribution Societies

Sole Chapter: [Untitled]     

Title III: Procedure and Sanctions

Chapter I: General Provisions     

Chapter II: Infringement Seizure     

Chapter III: Seizure Order     

Chapter IV: Resale Royalty Right     

Chapter V: Penal Provisions     

. . .¹

Sole Title     [Untitled]

Sole Chapter     [Untitled]

Art. 1. The provisions annexed to this Law shall constitute the Intellectual Property Code (Legislative Part).

Art. 2. The references contained in the provisions of a legislative nature referring to provisions repealed by of this Law shall be replaced by references to the corresponding provisions of the Intellectual Property Code.

Art. 3. The provisions of the Intellectual Property Code (Legislative Part) that quote articles from other codes, by reproducing them, shall automatically be amended by the effect of subsequent amendments to those articles.

Art. 4. This Law shall apply to the overseas territories and to the territorial entity of Mayotte.

Art. 5. There shall be repealed:

—     Articles 418, 422, 422-1, 422-2, 423-1, 423-2, 423-5 and 425 to 429 of the Penal Code;

—     Articles 1 to 16 of the Law of July 14, 1909, on industrial designs;

—     the Law of February 3, 1919, extending the term of literary and artistic property rights by reason of the war;

—     Article 1 of the Law of April 4, 1931, making applicable to French nationals in France the provisions of the international conventions that may be more favorable than those of domestic law for protecting rights deriving from industrial property;

—     Law No. 51-444 of April 19, 1951, setting up a National Institute of Industrial Property;

—     Law No. 51-1119 of September 21, 1951, concerning the extension by reason of the war of the term of literary and artistic property rights and repealing the validated Law of July 22, 1941, on literary property;

—     Law No. 52-300 of March 12, 1952, repressing the infringement of creations of the seasonal industries of dress and articles of fashion;

—     Law No. 57-298 of March 11, 1957, on literary and artistic property;

—     Law No. 57-803 of July 19, 1957, instituting a limitation on seizures with respect to copyright;

—     Law No. 64-689 of July 8, 1964, on application of the principle of reciprocity in copyright protection;

—     Patent Law No. 68-1 of January 2, 1968;

—     Law No. 70-489 of June 11, 1970, on the protection of new plant varieties, with the exception of its Article 36;

—     Law No. 77-682 of June 30, 1977, on the application of the Patent Cooperation Treaty, done at Washington on June 19, 1970;

—     Law No. 77-683 of June 30, 1977, on the application of the Convention on the grant of European patents, done at Munich on October 5, 1973;

—     Law No. 77-684 of June 30, 1977, on the application of the Convention for the European Patent for the Common Market (Community Patent Convention) done at Luxembourg on December 15, 1975;

—     Law No. 78-742 of July 13, 1978, amending and supplementing Law No. 68-1 of January 2, 1968, to valorize inventive activity and amend the arrangements for patents for invention;

—     Law No. 84-500 of June 27, 1984, amending and supplementing certain provisions of Law No. 68-1 of January 2, 1968, on patents for invention, as amended;

—     Articles 1 to 51, 53, 55 to 66 of Law No. 85-660 of July 3, 1985, on authors’ rights and on the rights of performers, producers of phonograms and videograms and audiovisual communication enterprises;

—     Article 95 of Law No. 86-1067 of September 30, 1986, on the freedom of communication;

—     Law No. 87-890 of November 4, 1987, on the protection of topographies of semiconductor products and on the organization of the National Institute of Industrial Property;

—     Law No. 90-510 of June 25, 1990, making the effective term of protection afforded by patents the same for medicines and for other products;

—     Articles 1 to 19, 21 to 47 and 49 to 54 of Law No. 90-1052 of November 26, 1990, relating to industrial property;

—     Law No. 91-7 of January 4, 1991, on trademarks and service marks.

Art. 6. There shall be inserted at the beginning of Article A of the Law of May 6, 1919, on the protection of appellations of origin, a paragraph worded as follows:

“The elements constituting an appellation of origin are defined in Article L. 721-1 of the Intellectual Property Code reproduced hereafter:”.

Art. L. 111-1. The author of a work of the mind shall enjoy in that work, by the mere fact of its creation, an exclusive incorporeal property right which shall be enforceable against all persons.

This right shall include attributes of an intellectual and moral nature as well as attributes of an economic nature, as determined by and III of this Code.

The existence or conclusion of a contract for hire or of service by the author of a work of the mind shall in no way derogate from the enjoyment of the right afforded by the first paragraph above.

Art. L. 111-2. A work shall be deemed to have been created, irrespective of any public disclosure, by the mere fact of realization of the author’s concept, even if incomplete.

Art. L. 111-3. The incorporeal property right set out in shall be independent of any property right in the physical object.

Acquisition of such object shall not vest in the acquirer of the object any of the rights afforded by this Code, except in those cases referred to in the provisions of the second and third paragraphs of Article L. 123-4. These rights shall subsist in the person of the author or of his successors in title who, nevertheless, may not require the proprietor of the physical object to make such object available to them for the exercise of those rights. However, in the event of manifest abuse by the proprietor preventing exercise of the right of disclosure, the first instance court (tribunal de grande instance) may take any appropriate measure, in accordance with the provisions of .

Art. L. 111-4. Subject to the international conventions to which France is party, in the event that it is ascertained, after consultation with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, that a State does not afford to works disclosed for the first time in France, in any form whatsoever, protection that is adequate and effective, works disclosed for the first time on the territory of such State shall not enjoy the copyright protection afforded by French legislation.

However, neither the integrity nor the authorship of such works may be impaired.

In the cases referred to in the first paragraph above, the royalties shall be paid to general interest bodies designated by decree.

Art. L. 111-5. Subject to the international conventions, foreigners shall enjoy in France the rights afforded to authors of software by this Code on condition that the law of the State of which they are nationals or on the territory of which they have their place of residence, their registered offices or an effective establishment affords its protection to software created by French nationals and by persons having in France their place of residence or an effective establishment.

Art. L. 112-1. The provisions of this Code shall protect the rights of authors in all works of the mind, whatever their kind, form of expression, merit or purpose.

Art. L. 112-2. The following, in particular, shall be considered works of the mind within the meaning of this Code:

1.     books, pamphlets and other literary, artistic and scientific writings;

2.     lectures, addresses, sermons, pleadings and other works of such nature;

3.     dramatic or dramatico-musical works;

4.     choreographic works, circus acts and feats and dumb-show works, the acting form of which is set down in writing or in other manner;

5.     musical compositions with or without words;

6.     cinematographic works and other works consisting of sequences of moving images, with or without sound, together referred to as audiovisual works;

7.     works of drawing, painting, architecture, sculpture, engraving and lithography;

8.     graphical and typographical works;

9.     photographic works and works produced by techniques analogous to photography;

10.     works of applied art;

11.     illustrations, geographical maps;

12.     plans, sketches and three-dimensional works relative to geography, topography, architecture and science;

13.     software, including the preparatory design material;

14.     creations of the seasonal industries of dress and articles of fashion. Industries which, by reason of the demands of fashion, frequently renew the form of their products, particularly the making of dresses, furs, underwear, embroidery, fashion, shoes, gloves, leather goods, the manufacture of fabrics of striking novelty or of special use in high fashion dressmaking, the products of manufacturers of articles of fashion and of footwear and the manufacture of fabrics for upholstery shall be deemed to be seasonal industries.

Art. L. 112-3. The authors of translations, adaptations, transformations or arrangements of works of the mind shall enjoy the protection afforded by this Code, without prejudice to the rights of the author of the original work. The same shall apply to the authors of anthologies or collections of miscellaneous works or data which, by reason of the selection or arrangement of their contents, constitute creations of the mind.

Art. L. 112-4. The title of a work of the mind shall be protected in the same way as the work itself where it is original in character.

Such title may not be used, even if the work is no longer protected under , to distinguish a work of the same kind if such use is liable to create confusion.

Art. L. 113-1. Authorship shall belong, unless proved otherwise, to the person or persons under whose name the work has been disclosed.

Art. L. 113-2. “Work of collaboration” shall mean a work in the creation of which more than one natural person has participated.

“Composite work” shall mean a new work in which a preexisting work is incorporated without the collaboration of the author of the latter work.

“Collective work” shall mean a work created at the initiative of a natural or legal person who edits it, publishes it and discloses it under his direction and name and in which the personal contributions of the various authors who participated in its production are merged in the overall work for which they were conceived, without it being possible to attribute to each author a separate right in the work as created.

Art. L. 113-3. A work of collaboration shall be the joint property of its authors.

The joint authors shall exercise their rights by common accord.

In the event of failure to agree, the civil courts shall decide.

Where the contribution of each of the joint authors is of a different kind, each may, unless otherwise agreed, separately exploit his own personal contribution without, however, prejudicing the exploitation of the common work.

Art. L. 113-4. A composite work shall be the property of the author who has produced it, subject to the rights of the author of the preexisting work.

Art. L. 113-5. A collective work shall be the property, unless proved otherwise, of the natural or legal person under whose name it has been disclosed.

The author’s rights shall vest in such person.

Art. L. 113-6. The authors of pseudonymous and anonymous works shall enjoy in such works the rights afforded by .

They shall be represented in the exercise of those rights by the original editor or publisher, until such time as they reveal their true identity and prove their authorship.

The declaration referred to in the preceding paragraph may be made by will; however, any rights previously acquired by other persons shall be maintained.

The provisions in the second and third paragraphs above shall not apply if the pseudonym adopted by the author leaves no doubt as to his true identity.

Art. L. 113-7. Authorship of an audiovisual work shall belong to the natural person or persons who have carried out the intellectual creation of the work.

Unless proved otherwise, the following are presumed to be the joint authors of an audiovisual work made in collaboration:

1.     the author of the script;

2.     the author of the adaptation;

3.     the author of the dialogue;

4.     the author of the musical compositions, with or without words, specially composed for the work;

5.     the director.

If an audiovisual work is adapted from a preexisting work or script which is still protected, the authors of the original work shall be assimilated to the authors of the new work.

Art. L. 113-8. Authorship of a radio work shall belong to the natural person or persons who carried out the intellectual creation of the work.

The provisions of the final paragraph of Article L. 113-7 and those of shall apply to radio works.

Art. L. 113-9. Unless otherwise provided by statutory provision or stipulation, the economic rights in the software and its documentation created by one or more employees in the execution of their duties or following the instructions given by their employer shall be the property of the employer and he exclusively shall be entitled to exercise them.

Any dispute concerning the application of this Article shall be submitted to the first instance court of the registered place of business of the employer.

The first paragraph of this Article shall also apply to servants of the State, of local authorities and of public establishments of an administrative nature.

Art. L. 121-1. An author shall enjoy the right to respect for his name, his authorship and his work.

This right shall attach to his person.

It shall be perpetual, inalienable and imprescriptible. It may be transmitted mortis causa to the heirs of the author.

Exercise may be conferred on another person under the provisions of a will.

Art. L. 121-2. The author alone shall have the right to divulge his work. He shall determine the method of disclosure and shall fix the conditions thereof, subject to Article L. 132-24.

After his death, the right to disclose his posthumous works shall be exercised during their lifetime by the executor or executors designated by the author. If there are none, or after their death, and unless the author has willed otherwise, this right shall be exercised in the following order: by the descendants, by the spouse against whom there exists no final judgment of separation and who has not remarried, by the heirs other than descendants, who inherit all or part of the estate and by the universal legatees or donees of the totality of the future assets.

This right may be exercised even after expiry of the exclusive right of exploitation set out in .

Art. L. 121-3. In the event of manifest abuse in the exercise or non-exercise of the right of disclosure by the deceased author’s representatives referred to in , the first instance court may order any appropriate measure. The same shall apply in the event of a dispute between such representatives, if there is no known successor in title, no heir or no spouse entitled to inherit.

Such matters may be referred to the courts by the Minister responsible for culture.

Art. L. 121-4. Notwithstanding assignment of his right of exploitation, the author shall enjoy a right to reconsider or of withdrawal, even after publication of his work, with respect to the assignee. However, he may only exercise that right on the condition that he indemnify the assignee beforehand for any prejudice the reconsideration or withdrawal may cause him. If the author decides to have his work published after having exercised his right to reconsider or of withdrawal, he shall be required to offer his rights of exploitation in the first instance to the assignee he originally chose and under the conditions originally determined.

Art. L. 121-5. An audiovisual work shall be deemed completed when the final version has been established by common accord between the director or, possibly, the joint authors, on the one hand, and the producer, on the other.

Destruction of the master copy of such version shall be prohibited.

Any change made to that version by adding, deleting or modifying any element thereof shall require the agreement of the persons referred to in the first paragraph above.

Any transfer of an audiovisual work to another kind of medium with a view to a different mode of exploitation shall require prior consultation with the director.

The authors’ own rights, as defined in , may be exercised by those authors only in respect of the completed audiovisual work.

Art. L. 121-6. If one of the authors refuses to complete his contribution to an audiovisual work or is unable to complete such contribution due to circumstances beyond his control, he shall not be entitled to oppose use of that part of his contribution already in existence for the purpose of completing the work. He shall be deemed the author of such contribution and shall enjoy the rights deriving therefrom.

Art. L. 121-7. Except for any stipulation more favorable to the author, such author may not:

1.     oppose modification of the software by the assignee of the rights referred to in item 2 of Article L. 122-6 where such modification does not prejudice either his honor or his reputation;

2.     exercise his right to reconsider or of withdrawal.

Art. L. 121-8. The author alone shall have the right to make a collection of his articles and speeches and to publish them or to authorize their publication in such form.

With regard to all works published in such way in a newspaper or periodical, the author shall maintain his right, unless otherwise stipulated, to have them reproduced or to exploit them in any form whatsoever, on condition that such reproduction or exploitation is not such as to compete with the newspaper or periodical concerned.

Art. L. 121-9. Whatever the marriage arrangements and on pain of nullity of any clause to the contrary contained in a marriage contract, the right to disclose a work, to lay down the conditions for exploiting it and for defending its integrity shall remain vested in the spouse who is the author or in the spouse to whom such rights have been transmitted. This right may not be brought in dowry nor acquired as community property nor subsequently acquired as community property.

The monetary proceeds resulting from the exploitation of a work of the mind or from the total or partial assignment of the right of exploitation shall be subject to the general rules of law applicable to marriage arrangements only if acquired during the marriage; the same shall apply to savings made on such account.

The provisions laid down in the preceding paragraph shall not apply if the marriage was contracted prior to March 12, 1958.

The legislative provisions relating to the contributions of the spouses to the cost of the household shall apply to the monetary proceeds referred to in the second paragraph of this Article.

Art. L. 122-1. The right of exploitation belonging to the author shall comprise the right of performance and the right of reproduction.

Art. L. 122-2. Performance shall consist in the communication of the work to the public by any process whatsoever, particularly:

1.     public recitation, lyrical performance, dramatic performance, public presentation, public projection and transmission in a public place of a telediffused work;

2.     telediffusion.

Telediffusion shall mean distribution by any telecommunication process of sounds, images, documents, data and messages of any kind.

Transmission of a work towards a satellite shall be assimilated to a performance.

Art. L. 122-2-1. The right of performance of a work broadcast by satellite shall be governed by the provisions of this Code where the work is transmitted to the satellite from the national territory.

Art. L. 122-2-2. The right of performance of a work broadcast by satellite which is transmitted from the territory of a non-Member State of the European Community that does not afford a level of copyright protected equivalent to that guaranteed by this Code shall also be governed by the provisions of this Code:

1.     where the uplink to the satellite is provided by a station situated on the national territory, in which case the rights provided for in this Code shall be exercisable against the person operating the uplink station;

2.     where the uplink to the satellite is not provided by a station situated in a Member State of the European Community, and where the transmission takes place at the request, on behalf or under the control of an audiovisual communication enterprise having its principal establishment on the national territory, in which case the rights provided for in this Code shall be exercisable against the said audiovisual communication enterprise.

Art. L. 122-3. Reproduction shall consist in the physical fixation of a work by any process permitting it to be communicated to the public in an indirect way.

It may be carried out, in particular, by printing, drawing, engraving, photography, casting and all processes of the graphical and plastic arts, mechanical, cinematographic or magnetic recording.

In the case of works of architecture, reproduction shall also consist in the repeated execution of a plan or of a standard project.

Art. L. 122-4. Any complete or partial performance or reproduction made without the consent of the author or of his successors in title or assigns shall be unlawful. The same shall apply to translation, adaptation or transformation, arrangement or reproduction by any technique or process whatsoever.

Art. L. 122-5. Once a work has been disclosed, the author may not prohibit:

l.     private and gratuitous performances carried out exclusively within the family circle;

2.     copies or reproductions reserved strictly for the private use of the copier and not intended for collective use, with the exception of copies of works of art to be used for purposes identical with those for which the original work was created and copies of software other than backup copies made in accordance with paragraph II of Article L. 122-6-1;

3.     on condition that the name of the author and the source are clearly stated:

(a)     analyses and short quotations justified by the critical, polemic, educational, scientific or informatory nature of the work in which they are incorporated;

(b)     press reviews;

(c)     dissemination, even in their entirety, through the press or by telediffusion, as current news, of speeches intended for the public made in political, administrative, judicial or academic gatherings, as also in public meetings of a political nature and at official ceremonies;

(d)     complete or partial reproductions of works of graphic or three-dimensional art intended to appear in the catalogue of a sale by public auction held in France by a public or ministerial officer, in the form of the copies of the said catalogue that he makes available to the public prior to the sale for the sole purpose of describing the works of art on sale.

     A Decree in Council of State shall determine the characteristics of the documents and the conditions governing their distribution.

4.     parody, pastiche and caricature, observing the rules of the genre.

Art. L. 122-6. Subject to the provisions of Article L. 122-6-1, the exploitation right belonging to the author of the software shall include the right to do or to authorize:

1.     the permanent or temporary reproduction of software by any means and in any form, in part or in whole. Insofar as loading, displaying, running, transmission or storage of the software necessitate such reproduction, such acts shall be possible only with the authorization of the author;

2.     the translation, adaptation, arrangement or any other alteration of software and the reproduction of the results thereof;

3.     the placing on the market for consideration or gratuitously, including rental, of the software or of copies thereof by any process. However, the first sale of a copy of software on the territory of a Member State of the European Community or of a State party to the agreement on the European Economic Area by the author or with his consent shall exhaust the right of placing on the market of that copy in all Member States, with the exception of the right to authorize further rental of a copy.

Art. L. 122-6-1.—I. The acts referred to in items 1 and 2 of Article L. 122-6 shall not require authorization by the author where they are necessary for the use of the software by the person entitled to use it in accordance with its intended purpose, including for error correction.

However, an author may by contract reserve the right to correct errors and stipulate any special conditions to which shall be subject the acts referred to in items 1 and 2 of Article L. 122-6, necessary to enable the entitled person to use the software in accordance with its intended purpose.

II. A person having the right to use the software may make a backup copy where such is necessary to ensure use of the software.

III. A person having the right to use the software shall be entitled, without the authorization of the author, to observe, study or test the functioning of the software in order to determine the ideas and principles which underlie any element of the software if he does so while performing any of the acts of loading, displaying, running, transmitting or storing the software which he is entitled to do.

IV. Reproduction of the code of the software or translation of the form of that code shall not require the authorization of the author where reproduction or translation within the meaning of item 1 or 2 of Article L. 122-6 is indispensable for obtaining the information necessary to achieve the interoperability of independently created software with other software, providing that the following conditions are met:

1.     these acts are performed by a person entitled to use a copy of the software or on his behalf by a person authorized to do so;

2.     the information necessary to achieve interoperability has not previously been readily available to the persons referred to in item 1, above;

3.     and these acts are confined to the parts of the original software which are necessary to achieve interoperability.

The information thus obtained may not:

1.     be used for goals other than to achieve the interoperability of the independently created software;

2.     be given to others, except where necessary for the interoperability of the independently created software;

3.     or be used for the development, production or marketing of software substantially similar in its expression, or for any other act which infringes copyright.

V. This Article may not be interpreted in such a way as to prejudice the normal exploitation of the software or to cause unreasonable prejudice to the author’s legitimate interests.

Any stipulation contrary to the provisions of paragraphs II, III and IV of this Article shall be null and void.

Art. L. 122-6-2. Any publication or user’s handbook concerning means of removing or circumventing any technical device protecting software shall state that the unlawful use of such means is liable to the penalties laid down for cases of infringement.

A Decree in Council of State (Conseil d’État) shall lay down the implementing rules for this Article.

Art. L. 122-7. The right of performance and the right of reproduction may be transferred, for or without payment.

Transfer of the right of performance shall not imply transfer of the right of reproduction.

Transfer of the right of reproduction shall not imply transfer of the right of performance.

Where a contract contains the complete transfer of either of the rights referred to in this Article, its effect shall be limited to the exploitation modes specified in the contract.

Art. L. 122-8. Authors of graphic and three-dimensional works shall have an inalienable right, regardless of any transfer of the original work, to participate in the proceeds of any sale of such work by public auction or through a dealer.

The royalty levied shall be a uniform 3% applicable only on a selling price above an amount to be laid down by regulation.

The royalty shall be levied on the selling price of each work and on the full price with no deduction from the basis. A Decree in Council of State shall lay down the conditions under which authors may assert the rights afforded them by this Article with respect to the sales referred to in the first paragraph above.

Art. L. 122-9. In the event of manifest abuse in the exercise or non-exercise of the rights of exploitation by the deceased author’s representatives referred to in , the first instance court may order any appropriate measure. The same shall apply in the event of a dispute between such representatives, if there is no known successor in title, no heir or no spouse entitled to inherit.

Such matters may be referred to the courts, inter alia, by the Minister responsible for culture.

Art. L. 122-10. The publication of a work shall imply assignment of the right of reprographic reproduction to a society governed by Title II of Book III and approved to such end by the Minister responsible for culture. Only approved societies may conclude an agreement with users for the purpose of administering the right thus assigned, subject, for the stipulations authorizing copies for the purposes of sale, rental, publicity or promotion, to the agreement of the author or his successors in title. Failing such designation by the author or his successor in title on the date of publication of the work, one of the approved societies shall be deemed the assignee of the right.

Reprography shall mean reproduction in the form of a copy on paper or an assimilated medium by means of a photographic process or one having equivalent effect permitting direct reading.

The provisions of the first paragraph shall not affect the right of the author or his successors in title to make copies for the purposes of sale, rental, publicity or promotion.

Notwithstanding any stipulation to the contrary, the provisions of this Article shall apply to all protected works whatever the date of their publication.

Art. L. 122-11. The agreements referred to in Article L. 122-10 may provide for lump sum remuneration in the cases defined in items 1 to 3 of Article L. 131-4.

Art. L. 122-12. Approval of the societies referred to in the first paragraph of Article L. 122-10 shall be given on consideration of:

—     the diversity of the partners;

—     the professional qualifications of the officers;

—     the human and material means they propose to use to administer the reprographicre production right;

—     the equitable nature of the conditions foreseen for distributing the amounts collected.

A Decree in Council of State shall lay down the conditions for granting and withdrawing such approval and also the choice of the assignee societies in application of the final sentence of the first paragraph of Article L. 122-10.

Art. L. 123-1. The author shall enjoy, during his lifetime, the exclusive right to exploit his work in any form whatsoever and to derive monetary profit therefrom.

On the death of the author, that right shall subsist for his successors in title during the current calendar year and the 70 years thereafter.

Art. L. 123-2. In the case of works of collaboration, the calendar year taken into account shall be that of the death of the last surviving joint author.

In the case of audiovisual works, the calendar year taken into account shall be that of the death of the last survivor of the following joint authors: the author of the scenario, the author of the dialogue, the author of the musical compositions, with or without words, specially composed for the work and the main director.

Art. L. 123-3. In the case of pseudonymous, anonymous or collective works, the term of the exclusive right shall be 70 years from January 1 of the calendar year following that in which the work was published. The publication date shall be determined by any form of proof recognized by the general rules of law, particularly by statutory deposit.

Where a pseudonymous, anonymous or collective work is published in installments, the term shall run as from January 1 of the calendar year following the date on which each installment was published.

Where the author or authors of anonymous or pseudonymous works reveal their identity, the term of the exclusive right shall be that provided for in or .

The provisions of the first and second paragraphs shall apply only to pseudonymous, anonymous or collective works published during the 70 years following the year of their creation.

Nevertheless, where a pseudonymous, anonymous or collective work is disclosed on the expiry of the term mentioned in the foregoing paragraph, its owner by succession or on another ground who publishes it or causes it to be published shall enjoy exclusive rights for 25 years from January 1 of the calendar year following that of publication.

Art. L. 123-4. In the case of posthumous works, the term of the exclusive right shall be that provided for in . In the case of posthumous works disclosed after the expiry of that term, the term of exclusive rights shall be 25 years from January 1 of the calendar year following that of publication.

The right of exploitation in posthumous works shall belong to the author’s successors in title if the work is disclosed during the term referred to in .

If disclosure is made on expiry of that term, the right shall belong to the owners of the work, whether by succession or for other reason, who publish or have the work published.

Posthumous works shall be published separately, except where they constitute only a fragment of a work previously published. They may only be joined with previously published works of the same author if the author’s successors in title still enjoy the exploitation rights therein.

Art. L. 123-5. [Repealed]

Art. L. 123-6. During the term laid down in , the surviving spouse, against whom there is no final decision of separation, shall enjoy the usufruct of any right of exploitation that the author has not assigned, irrespective of the type of marriage arrangements and of the rights of usufruct deriving from Article 767 of the Civil Code with respect to other assets of the estate. However, if the author has left forced heirs, the usufruct shall be reduced to the benefit of the heirs, according to the proportions and distinctions laid down by Articles 913 et seq. of the Civil Code.

Such right shall lapse should the spouse contract a new marriage.

Art. L. 123-7. After the death of the author, the resale royalty right referred to in shall subsist to the benefit of the heirs and, with respect to usufruct laid down in , of the spouse, to the exclusion of all legatees and successors in title, for the current calendar year and 70 years thereafter.

Art. L. 123-8. The rights afforded by the Law of July 14, 1866, on the Rights of Heirs and Successors in Title of Authors to the heirs and other successors in title of authors, composers or artists shall be extended for a period equal to that which elapsed between August 2, 1914, and the end of the year following the day of signature of the peace treaty for all works published prior to that latter date and which had not fallen into the public domain on February 3, 1919.

Art. L. 123-9. The rights afforded by the above mentioned Law of July 14, 1866, and by to the heirs and successors in title of the authors, composers and artists shall be extended for a period equal to that which elapsed between September 3, 1939, and January 1, 1948, for all works published before that date and which did not fall into the public domain on August 13, 1941.

Art. L. 123-10. The rights referred to in the preceding Article shall be further extended for a term of 30 years if the author, the composer or the artist has died for France, as recorded in the death certificate.

Where the death certificate has neither to be drawn up nor registered in France, the Minister responsible for culture may extend by order to the heirs or other successors in title of the deceased person the benefit of the additional extension of 30 years; such order, issued after obtaining the opinion of the authorities referred to in Article 1 of Ordinance No. 45-2717 of November 2, 1945, may only be issued in those cases where the entry “died for France” would have appeared on the death certificate if such certificate had been drawn up in France.

Art. L. 123-11. Where the rights extended under Article L. 123-10 have been assigned for consideration, the assignors or their successors in title may apply, within a period of three years as from September 25, 1951, to the assignee or his successors in title for a review of the conditions of the assignment as compensation for the advantages resulting from the extension.

Art. L. 123-12. Where the country of origin of the work, within the meaning of the Paris Act of the Berne Convention, is a country outside the European Community and the author is not a national of a Member State of the Community, the term of protection shall be that granted in the country of origin of the work, but may not exceed that provided for in .

Art. L. 131-1. Total transfer of future works shall be null and void.

Art. L. 131-2. The performance, publishing and audiovisual production contracts defined in this Title shall be in writing. The same shall apply to free performance authorizations.

In all other cases, the provisions of Articles 1341 to 1348 of the Civil Code shall apply.

Art. L. 131-3. Transfer of authors’ rights shall be subject to each of the assigned rights being separately mentioned in the instrument of assignment and the field of exploitation of the assigned rights being defined as to its scope and purpose, as to place and as to duration.

Where special circumstances demand, the contract may be validly concluded by an exchange of telegrams, on condition that the field of exploitation of the assigned rights be defined in compliance with the first paragraph of this Article.

Assignment of audiovisual adaptation rights must be effected by written contract in an instrument separate from the contract relating to publication itself of the printed work.

The assignee shall undertake by such contract to endeavor to exploit the assigned right in accordance with trade practice and to pay to the author, in the event of adaptation, a remuneration that is proportional to the revenue obtained.

Art. L. 131-4. Assignment by the author of the rights in his work may be total or partial. Assignment shall comprise a proportional participation by the author in the revenue from sale or exploitation of the work.

However, the author’s remuneration may be calculated as a lump sum in the following cases:

1.     the basis for calculating the proportional participation cannot be practically determined;

2.     the means of supervising the participation are lacking;

3.     the cost of the calculation and supervising operations would be out of proportion with the expected results;

4.     the nature or conditions of exploitation make application of the rule of proportional remuneration impossible, either because the author’s contribution does not constitute one of the essential elements of the intellectual creation of the work or because the use of the work is only of an accessory nature in relation to the subject matter exploited;

5.     assignment of rights in software;

6.     in the other cases laid down in this Code.

Conversion, at the author’s request, between the parties of the rights under existing contracts to lump sum annuities for periods to be determined between the parties shall also be lawful.

Art. L. 131-5. If the exploitation right has been assigned and the author suffers a prejudice of more than seven-twelfths as a result of a burdensome contract or of insufficient advance estimate of the proceeds from the work, he may demand review of the price conditions under the contract.

Such demand may only be formulated where the work has been assigned against lump sum remuneration.

The burdensome contract shall be assessed taking into account the overall exploitation by the assignee of the works of the author who claims to have suffered a prejudice.

Art. L. 131-6. Any assignment clause affording the right to exploit a work in a form that is unforeseeable and not foreseen on the date of the contract shall be explicit and shall stipulate participation correlated to the profits from exploitation.

Art. L. 131-7. In the event of partial assignment, the assignee shall replace the author in the exercise of the assigned rights subject to the conditions and limitations and for the duration laid down in the contract, and with the obligation to render accounts.

Art. L. 131-8. With regard to payment of the royalties and remuneration due to them for the last three years for the assignment, exploitation or use of their works, as defined in of this Code, the authors, composers and artists shall enjoy the privilege set out in item 4 of Article 2101 and in Article 2104 of the Civil Code.

Section 1 Publishing Contracts

Art. L. 132-1. A publishing contract is a contract by which the author of a work of the mind or his successors in title assign under specified conditions to a person referred to as the publisher the right to manufacture or have manufactured a number of copies of the work, it being for the latter to ensure publication and dissemination thereof.

Art. L. 132-2. A contract at the author’s expense shall not constitute a publishing contract within the meaning of .

Under such contract, the author or his successors in title pay to the publisher an agreed remuneration against which the latter manufactures a number of copies of the work in the form and according to the modes of expression specified in the contract and ensures their publication and dissemination.

Such contract constitutes a contract for hire governed by convention, usage and the provisions of Articles 1787 et seq. of the Civil Code.

Art. L. 132-3. A contract at joint expense shall not constitute a publishing contract within the meaning of .

Under such contract, the author or his successors in title commission a publisher to manufacture at his expense a number of copies of the work in the form and according to the modes of expression specified in the contract and to ensure their publication and dissemination in accordance with the agreement reciprocally contracted to share profits and losses of exploitation in the agreed proportion.

Such contract shall constitute a joint undertaking. It shall be governed, subject to the provisions of Articles 1871 et seq. of the Civil Code, by convention and usage.