Without prejudice to the provisions of the loi du 17 mars 1909 relative à la vente et au nantissement des fonds de commerce, the exploitation right of the author of software defined in Article L. 122-6 may be pledged under the following conditions:
The pledge contract shall, on pain of nullity, be evidenced in writing.
The pledge is entered, on pain of non-enforceability, in a special register kept by the Institut national de la propriété industrielle. The registration shall indicate precisely the basis of the security and in particular the source codes and operating documents.
The rank of the registrations is determined by the order in which they are required.
Registrations of pledges shall, unless previously renewed, lapse on expiry of a period of five years.
A decree in the Council of State will set the conditions for the application of this article.