Copyright

Copyright protects literary works, musical, graphic, and plastic creations as well as software, applied arts creations, fashion creations, etc. Performing artists, video and audio recording producers, and audiovisual communications firms also have similar rights.

WARNING: copyright does not protect ideas and concepts.

Interest

Copyright is acquired without formality, by the very act of creating the work.

So your creation is protected from the day you created it, regardless of:

  • the form of expression (written or oral, the way the work is communicated to the public),
  • its type (the work’s category, for example, a painting, a novel, or a photograph),
  • its merit (author’s talent or flair),
  • its destination (whether the work is a purely artistic creation or applied art).

You have two types of prerogative on your work:

  • “moral” rights that protect you as an author. So you can prevent divulgation of your work without your consent, any use distorting your work, or require that your name be mentioned. These moral rights are perpetual and you may not transfer them;
  • “property” rights that allow you to forbid or authorize the use of your work and receive, in this case, compensation in exchange. Property rights continue for up to 70 years after the death of the author or after disclosure if the work belongs to a legal person (company, association).

You may act on copyright violations.

You may cumulate copyright and drawing and model registration to protect your products’ appearance.

You may cumulate copyright and trademark registration to protect your graphic creation, if it serves to distinguish your firm from its competitors, if it is, in the eyes of clients, an indentifying sign for your products and services.

Constraints

Although copyright takes effect from the date the work is created without registration formalities:

  • It must nevertheless be “original” - it must carry the mark of your personality as author.
  • You must be capable of proving the date the work was created in the event of litigation.

WARNING: if you would like protection aboard, you must know that copyright laws differ from one country to another and that the protection provided in France is not automatically recognized abroad.

Precautions

If you choose to only take advantage of copyright, you must be able to establish proof of your creation in the event of litigation.

You may constitute proof in various ways:

  • using a Soleau envelope;
  • registering your creations with a ministerial officer (notary or bailiff) or by calling upon a writers’ association.