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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...

On 29 May 2012, in a judgment running to 34 pages, the regional court in Paris rejected the claims brought by TF1 and its subsidiaries (the channel LCI, TF1 Vidéo and TF1 International, responsible for video editing and acquiring and distributing rights) against YouTube on the grounds of infringement of copyright, unfair competition and parasitic use. In addition to requesting a ban, the channel was also claiming damages - calculated at EUR 150 million - for the prejudice caused by YouTube putting on-line a whole range of films, series, sports events and broadcasts it felt it had rights to, including...

On 30 November 2011, after obtaining the opinion of the Constitutional Council, the audiovisual regulatory authority (Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel - CSA) adopted a recommendation on the coverage of presidential elections determining the scheme applicable to coverage of the campaign in the audiovisual media (see IRIS 2012-2/20). With the end of campaigning on 6 May 2012 and the election of François Hollande as President of France, it is now time to take a look at how the rules have been observed. Throughout the campaign, the CSA ensured compliance with firstly the principle of equity, and...