French Intellectual Property Code

Organisations for the collective management of the rights of phonogram and videogram producers and performers are entitled, within the limits of mandates given to them either by all or some of their members or by foreign organisations with the same object, to exercise collectively the rights provided for in articles L. 213-1 and L. 215-1 by concluding general contracts of common interest with users of phonograms or videograms with the…

The conditions under which collective management organisations grant authorisations to exploit rights are based on objective, transparent and non-discriminatory criteria. The amount of remuneration charged by organisations for the exploitation of rights shall be reasonable and shall ensure that the rightholders they represent receive appropriate remuneration for such exploitation. It shall take into account, in particular, the economic value of the rights exploited, whether they are exclusive rights or rights…

Collective management organisations allow users to communicate with them electronically. They respond within a reasonable time to users’ requests and inform them of the conditions for granting exploitation rights, the criteria they use to set the amount of remuneration due and the information they need to be able to propose an exploitation right. After receiving this information, the organisation will, within a reasonable time, either propose an exploitation licence or…

When an exploitation authorisation is granted, the user is obliged to communicate to the collective management organisation, in a format and within a time limit agreed between the parties or pre-established, the relevant information on the use he has made of the rights, so that the organisation is in a position to ensure the collection and distribution of the revenues deriving from the exploitation of those rights. In defining the…

In the cases provided for by this code, a contract authorising the exploitation of protected works or subject matter concluded by a collective management organisation approved for this purpose by the Minister responsible for culture may, with regard to use on national territory, be extended to rightholders who are not members of this organisation by order of the Minister responsible for culture. The extension of a contract concluded by an…

A rights holder may object to an approved collective management organisation of which he is not a member issuing exploitation authorisations on his behalf. This objection may be notified to the approved collective management organisation at any time. When it is notified after a contract has been extended under the conditions provided for in Article L. 324-8-1, the stipulations of that contract cease to have effect with regard to that…

The approval referred to in Article L. 324-8-1 is granted in consideration of: 1° the size of the organisation’s repertoire and the diversity of its members; 2° The professional qualifications of the directors; 3° The human and material resources that the organisation proposes to implement to ensure the management of the rights concerned; 4° The equitable nature of the distribution principles provided for with a view to distributing the sums…

When it is granted authorisation under the conditions mentioned in article L. 324-8-3, the approved collective management organisation immediately implements appropriate publicity measures to inform the rightholders concerned of the fact that it is entitled to negotiate a contract authorising the exploitation of their works or protected subject matter in a case provided for in this code and to request the extension of such a contract, as well as the…

A user who has entered into a contract under the conditions provided for in Article L. 324-8-1 shall communicate to the approved collective management organisation all the relevant information mentioned in Article L. 324-8.

The procedures for applying articles L. 324-8-1 to L. 324-8-5, in particular the procedures for exercising the right to object provided for in article L. 324-8-2, the procedures for issuing and withdrawing the authorisation provided for in article L. 324-8-3 and the publicity measures provided for in article L. 324-8-4, are specified by decree in the Conseil d’Etat.