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On 12 July 2012, the first civil chamber of the Court of Cassation delivered three important judgments, overturning the judgment of the court of appeal in Paris which had found that Google Images and Google Vidéo had not taken the necessary steps to make it impossible to put images and films that infringed copyright back on line. The Court of Cassation held that this was tantamount to requiring Google to observe a general obligation of supervision and demanding, out of proportion to the desired aim, the setting up of a blocking arrangement for an unlimited period of time. The Court of Cassation...

In an important judgment delivered on 12 July 2012, the Court of Cassation found that the Google Suggest semi-automatic search tool made it possible to infringe copyright and/or neighbouring rights, by directing Internet users’ searches towards services that offer illegal downloading. In the case at issue, the French national syndicate of music producers (Syndicat National des Producteurs de Musique - SNEP) had noted that when an Internet user entered the name of a performer or an album in Google, the browser’s “Suggest” tool systematically associated the name with on-line services allowing piracy,...

On 20 July 2012, the Constitutional Council deliberated on the compliance with the French Constitution of Article 6 of the Act of 20 December 2011 on remuneration for making copies for private use. The purpose of this remuneration is to ensure compensation for the holders of copyright or neighbouring rights in return for the reproduction by users, for their private use, of protected works and other objects covered by neighbouring rights. In a judgment delivered on 17 June 2011, the Conseil d’Etat had cancelled a decision made by the “Private Copy Committee”, which is responsible for establishing...

On 15 June 2012, the French company of authors, composers and editors of music (Société des Auteurs, Compositeurs et Éditeurs de Musique - SACEM) and France Télévisions announced they had signed an agreement on the broadcasting of works listed in SACEM’s repertoire on all the channels in the France Télévisions group. This agreement replaces the previous agreements, which had covered use by the various channels, with a single contract. This simplifies matters considerably, since it applies to all the channels operated by France Télévisions, which became a single undertaking by virtue of the Act...

Three years after the adoption of the Act of 5 March 2009 on audiovisual communication, and with France’s new Government announcing reform of the public-sector audiovisual scene, it is worth noting the publication of a report by Senators David Assouline and Jacques Legendre on behalf of the commission for supervising application of legislation. On the basis of the preparatory work for the Act, and after hours of debate and hearings, the rapporteurs have highlighted the objectives set out in the 2009 Act and compared them with the results actually achieved. There are comments on nearly all the measures...