Copyright lawyers
As copyright lawyers specialising in French law, we provide expert advice on both the commercial exploitation and protection of your rights in France, including representation in copyright infringement disputes.
Protection for original works under French copyright law
A wide variety of creations may qualify for copyright protection, including furniture, paintings, photographs, software and architectural plans.
Two conditions must be met: the creation must be expressed in a tangible form, as ideas themselves cannot be exclusively owned, and it must be original, reflecting the author’s creative choices in its wording or aesthetic features.
Legal support for managing and protecting your copyright
Developing a strategy to protect your rights
Have you created something and want to know whether it qualifies for copyright protection? We assess your creation against the requirements outlined above and work with you to determine whether copyright is the appropriate form of protection.
The next step is to establish reliable evidence of the date of your creation. This can be done through an e-Soleau deposit with the French National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), a deposit with the Agency for the Protection of Programs (APP) for software, or a deposit with a judicial officer. Particularly in the event of a dispute, this evidence can help establish that you created a particular work by a particular date. A deposit can also help define the precise scope of a work, for example by referring to it in a licence agreement.
Copyright ownership
Who can claim copyright in a work? This is an important question because, depending on the answer, copyright assignment agreements may need to be drawn up in accordance with strict formal requirements.
Does an employee, service provider or intern own the copyright in a work they have created at your request, such as a logo, a visual identity or a website design? Subject to specific exceptions, including collective works and software, the answer is yes, even if this may seem counterintuitive.
You must therefore ensure that properly drafted agreements are in place so that you can use your intangible assets without disputes over the relevant rights. Solvoxia helps you understand these issues and implement appropriate practices.
Transferring and licensing your copyright
Would you like to authorise a third party to sell a distinctive piece of furniture you have designed, allow a gallery to exhibit your sculpture, or let a business partner use your software? How should you proceed, and what formal requirements apply? How should an agreement assigning these rights be drafted and negotiated?
Our copyright lawyers can assist you with all these particularly sensitive matters. Transfers of copyright must comply with strict formal requirements under the French Intellectual Property Code.
The same applies if you have written a book and wish to have it published. Specific rules govern publishing agreements, limiting the parties’ contractual freedom. Whether you are an author or a publisher, we can help you draft and negotiate these agreements.
Commercial exploitation of your copyright
What remuneration is an author entitled to receive? How can that remuneration be structured?
Solvoxia can help you answer these questions. As a general rule, authors should receive remuneration proportionate to the proceeds from the exploitation of their work. However, exceptions allow lump-sum remuneration in certain circumstances, for example for software or where the nature of the work makes proportional remuneration impossible to calculate.
Legal representation in copyright disputes
Have you discovered that a third party is selling your creation without your permission, or that an online retailer is using your photograph without having contacted you beforehand?
The first step is to obtain formal evidence of the infringement. We help you identify the most appropriate approach for your situation, whether through an official report drawn up by a judicial officer online or on site, or through a court-authorised evidence-gathering procedure known in France as a saisie-contrefaçon.
Depending on the urgency of the situation, the next step will generally be to send the infringing company a cease-and-desist letter, requiring it to stop its unlawful activities and, where appropriate, seeking reimbursement of the costs incurred in defending your rights.
If an amicable resolution cannot be reached, we will then consider bringing copyright infringement proceedings before the competent court, using either a standard or an expedited procedure.
We assist you both when your work has been copied and when infringement claims are brought against you that you believe are unfounded.
As copyright lawyers, we help you assess your specific circumstances and respond appropriately.
If you need legal assistance in this area, please contact us. You may also find answers to your questions on our website.