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On 22 November 2006 the Senate adopted the Bill on the television of the future, which provides for the definitive phasing out of the analog mode by 30 November 2011, the launch of high-definition television (HD TV), and the launch of personal mobile television (see IRIS 2006-9: 9). Despite the protests of the new digital television channels, the incumbent channels (TF1, Canal + and M6) will be granted a “bonus” channel, allocated to them by way of “compensation” to “make good the prejudice” in connection with the gradual phasing out of analog television. Their broadcasting authorisation would...

On 14 November 2006 the Court of Cassation delivered a noteworthy decision in a case involving an advertisement showing a photograph inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of “The Last Supper’ (and by the Da Vinci Code!) to promote a brand of clothing. Unlike the original painting, the characters here were women wearing the brand’s clothing, except for one man, whose bare back was shown. The advertisement, measuring 400 square metres, had been attached to the facade of a building in Paris for one month to mark the launch of the spring/summer collection of the brand in question. An association...

The dividing line between fiction and reality is sometimes very narrow, giving rise to many disputes. Following on from the problems raised by the production and broadcasting of “docu-fiction” works (see IRIS 2006-3: 13 and IRIS 2006-10: 12), this time it was the matter of the inclusion of “private images” in a full-length film that was submitted to the regional court of Paris. The dispute was between the producers and distributors of the successful film “Comme t’y es belle” (first screened in May 2006 and seen by more than a million cinema-goers) and a member of the audience who was surprised,...

The French authorities have notified to the Commission a tax arrangement intended to support video game production studios. In order to be eligible for the tax credit, worth up to 20% of the production cost, video games must either be an adaptation of an existing work of European origin or satisfy a test of quality, originality of concept and contribution to the expression of European cultural diversity and creativity as applied to video games. Thus, the French plan aims at selecting video games that constitute cultural products. The Commission entertains doubts as to the criteria used to select...

In a decision adopted on 27 September, the Conseil d’Etat has now laid down the way in which the procedure instituted by Article 42-3 of the Act of 30 September 1986, as amended, is to be implemented. According to this text, the Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel (audiovisual regulatory authority- CSA) may, without prior formal notification, withdraw a radio or television station’s broadcasting authorisation in the event of a substantial change in the information on the basis of which the authorisation had been issued, more particularly as the result of changes in the composition of company capital...