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On 25 June 2009 the Court of Cassation delivered an important judgment on the much debated issue, in terms of both doctrine and case law, of the legal qualification of video games. A video game incorporates both software and audiovisual elements, alongside other elements (music, text, etc) that are covered by copyright under common law. This raises the question of its qualification, as a unit or in terms of distribution, as each of these elements has been subject to a different scheme. The only legal definition under French law is given in relation to tax, and opts for qualification as software...

The European Commission has opened an investigation into the long term State aid mechanisms proposed by the French authorities for the funding of France Télévisions, the largest French broadcasting group. France initially gave notice to the Commission of its intention to pay a subsidy for that year in January 2009, while in May the French authorities signalled their plan to introduce the multi-annual funding mechanism. The mechanism consists of funding from the public service broadcasting contribution and an annual subsidy, and forms part of the far-reaching reforms of the public service broadcasting...

Taking note of the decision made by the Conseil d’État on 8 April 2009 (see IRIS 2009-5: 14), the national audiovisual regulatory authority (Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel - CSA) adopted on 21 July 2009 a new "principle of pluralism" that will govern the balance in regard to the proportion of speaking time for politicians on radio and television. Starting on 1 September, this principle will replace the so-called "three thirds" rule (government, majority, and opposition), in force since 1969, which excluded the Head of State for the purpose of the calculation. As a result, the total speaking...

Article 17 of the Act on 'Creation and the Internet' ("HADOPI") of 12 June 2009 encouraged the conclusion of an inter-profession agreement on reorganising media chronology in the months following its promulgation (see IRIS 2009-7: 13). This is the part of the Act that aims, at the same time as combating piracy, to develop the legal offer of films. After complex negotiations carried out under the auspices of the National Cinematographic Centre (Centre National de la Cinématographie - CNC), the agreement on reorganising media chronology was finally signed within the short amount of time allowed by...

After the recent cases involving Orange Sports and the courts' examination, in terms of consumer law, of exclusive content distributed by Internet access providers (IAPs) (see IRIS 2009-6: 12), it is now up to the Authority on Competition ( Autorité de la Concurrence ) to adopt a position. The matter was referred to the Authority by the Minister of the Economy; she invited the Authority to make a statement on the compatibility of the exclusive access to highly attractive content that some IAPs reserved for their subscribers with the regulations on competition. She also invited it to draw up an...