Recent Decisions and Developments in FRENCH ART LAW (Part 1)
The following contains a selection of recent judicial decisions regarding the consignment of art works which are of practical importance to participants in the French art market. It should be noted that, under Civil law, the consignment of a work is precisely regulated by the Civil Code as a “Contrat de dépôt”. In that context, we note a series of decisions resolving conflicts of ownership and compensation between artists and galleries entrusted to display and sell the works of art. 1. Who is the rightful owner of artworks consigned by an artist to a gallery? (Court of Cassation, 22 March […]
Recent Decisions and Developments in FRENCH ART LAW (Part 2)
French courts have become more restrictive on granting copyright protection. This is the case for photographs of works of arts and zinc plates used to produce lithographs. As a consequence, these works can be freely used or sold on the art market. 1. Lack of protection for photographs that are faithful reproductions of sculptures (Court of Appeal of Paris, 16 January 2013) Facts: A sculptor commissioned photographs of his works for a catalogue/monograph about his works. Subsequently, without obtaining a specific permission/or copyright grant from the photographer, the sculptor used these photographs for other purposes, specifically for exhibition catalogues and sale through […]
French Court orders block of 16 video streaming sites
The Paris High Court has ordered Internet search engines including Google, Microsoft and Yahoo to remove links to 16 video streaming sites from their search results. The decision brings an end to a two-year court battle launched by the Association des Producteurs de Cinema, which represents 120 film production companies, the film distributor representative Federation Nationale des Distributeurs de Films and film publisher group the Syndicat de l’Edition Video Numerique. The groups demanded that search engines Google, Bing and Yahoo stop listing links to video streaming portals Allosteaming, Fifostream and dpstream, which provide free streams of new films and TV shows without […]
Law Firm Website – Legal Notices
Law Firm Website – Legal Notices Website publisher The DEBAECQUE-AVOCATS.COM website is published by the firm DE BAECQUE BELLEC, doing business as an association of attorneys and having its registered office at 3 rue du Louvre, 75001 Paris, tel. 01 53 29 90 00, fax 01 53 29 90 01, email: contact@debaecque-avocats.com (hereinafter, the “Publisher”). The website’s publication manager is Mr. Olivier de Baecque, Partner. Design & Production Graphic design & models: Manon Dugravier – click here Development & referencing: Agency IMPAAKT – click here Copyrighter : Béatrice Michaux Site & Sens Photo credits Manon Dugravier – Law […]
France relaxes ‘three-strike’ piracy scheme
The French government has removed the authorities’ power to cut off Internet access to file-sharers suspected of repeatedly infringing copyright. A decree published on Tuesday shows that file-shares can still face fines of up to €1,500 after receiving three warnings about their behaviour on peer-to-peer networks. France’s graduated response system is led by government agency Hadopi, which can issue Internet users with ‘three strikes’ before a court can suspend their Internet access for one month as well as fine them. The removal of the courts’ power to cut Internet connections comes two months after a report, published by French businessman Pierre Lescure, […]
France set to scrap Hadopi
The French cultural and communications ministry was urged on Monday to scrap Hadopi, the government agency responsible for a three-strike anti-piracy system. Businessman Pierre Lescure, who has led a consultation on updating French cultural policy since last year, recommended transferring Hadopi’s powers to the Higher Audiovisual Council (CSA), France’s broadcasting regulator. The three-strike system should also be scaled down, Lescure said, including removing the penalty of terminating Internet connections and reducing the maximum fine of €1,500 ($1,930), to €60 ($77). Hadopi issues illegal downloaders with up to three warnings, at which point prosecutors can terminate their Internet for a month […]
Google cuts deal with French publishers
WorldIPReview.com, 5 février 2013 Google has created a €60 million ‘digital publishing innovation’ fund for French newspapers, ending a six-month dispute over the use of their copyrighted material online. The fund is part of a deal Google’s chairman Eric Schmidt and French president François Hollande signed on Friday. The deal settles a dispute between the Internet company and French publishers over links to news stories that appear on Google News. According to a brief blog post by Schmidt, the €60 million fund will support digital publishing initiatives for French readers for three years. Under the second part of the deal, […]
