Registration of copyright in France

The registration of copyright is the legal requirement made to the producers and diffusers of documents to submit them to the organizations agents, which are held to preserve them and to announce them.

History

Old Mode

The registration of copyright was founded in France by the ordinance of Montpellier of December 28th, 1537.

The deposit was to be made near the Library of the King, then with Blois, in a specimen until 1617, two then. At the beginning of the 17th century, the employers' federations of booksellers require to profit from a systematic deposit, which is generalized by the edict of 1618. As from 1658, the Cabinet of the King to the Louvre, is recipient of a specimen of any publication. In 1686, the Chancelier of France is seen allotting another specimen.

Until 1704, the deposits were to be carried out near the various institutions indicated successively. In 1704, he is requested from the printers and booksellers to give the specimens to the Employers' federation of the booksellers of Paris, which is charged to distribute them between the recipients. At the same time, the library of the King must receive three as from 1704 at least from them, the variable exact number according to the format. The same edict allots to the royal critic is also designated as recipient of a specimen, as well as the Minister of Justice, as from 1785.

The meeting of the Cabinet and the Library in 1720 does not lead, in spite of the complaints of the printers, with a reduction of the full number which is thus of three for the Library starting from this date.

As from the 18th century, the inspectors of the bookstore instituted by the royal capacity, are implied more and more in the collection of the registration of copyright. It is only by the payment of 1785 that their role on the matter is officially recognized because they are charged to allot to the recipients the specimens which return to them.

The Estampe S were also claimed, in particular after the stop of the Council of March 17th, 1672. The printed music is also required, which is recalled in the stop of the Council of June 25th, 1714. The “payment” of 1785 (Stop of the Council of April 16th) gives the longest list of the types of documents concerned.

The deposit with does not seem to be very followed. The complaints are done more as from 1642. Starting from this dates, several stops of the Council ordered the retrospective deposit of the works which had not been it.

The province was subjected to the registration of copyright as well as Paris and, in theory, under the same conditions. Besides the texts which governed printing works locally envisaged often an assimilation with the operation of the Parisian deposit, including the role of intermediary played by the employers' federation of Paris. The deposit was fact either by the letter post, or by a messenger who was seldom sent purposely to carry out this obligation.

Since the Revolution

With the Revolution and the Declaration of the human rights and the citizen, the office of the bookstore does not take place any more to be and disappears on December 31st, 1790. But makes the registration of copyright of it was not respected more since the beginning of the year 1790 and was thus removed de facto .

At the time of the Revolution, the registration of copyright is removed in the name of the Freedom of expression the July 21st 1790. It however is restored by the law of the 19 and July 24th 1793, which envisages an optional deposit, but necessary to put forward the literary property. It is reorganized by the decree February 5th 1810 and is made again obligatory, to supervise the Imprimerie. A ordinance of 1828 in general reduces the number of necessary specimens to two, of which is allotted to another library, Parisian.

The deposit is wide successively with the Lithographie in 1817 and with the Photographie in 1851. The law of July 29th, 1881 fixes new rules for the registration of copyright.

A material change intervenes with the Loi of the May 19th 1925, which institutes a double registration of copyright, for the printers on the one hand, the editors on the other hand. The editors deposit with the National library, and the printers of province deposit in the library indicated according to the department, which ensures a cross control of the deposit.

The laws of the September 17th 1941 and of the June 21st 1943 still widen the registration of copyright by pointing out the obligation to deposit the Photographie S and by extending the deposit to the sound records and the Cinéma.

However, these measures will not be taken immediately in a rigorous way, since it was necessary to await the decree of the 1963 specifying the methods of this deposit. The registration of copyright was finally extended to the Multimédia and the Audiovisuel in 1975 and 1977.

The last law reforming the registration of copyright deeply is that of the June 20th 1992 (law 92-546). This law is from now on codified with the Code of the inheritance.

The law DADVSI made some modifications to the code of the inheritance. The mode of the Software deposit of the databases and re-examined S.A. and the deposit is extended to the Web sites:

Today, the registration of copyright relates to not only the book and the periodical, but also engraving, photography, films, television, the audio and video discs, the Databases and Logiciel S, the broadcast and televised production and certain pages of Internet.

Applicable texts

The registration of copyright is currently governed by:

• title III of the Ier book of the Code of the inheritance;
• decree 93-1429 of the December 31st 1993, modified lastly by decree 2006-696 of June 13rd, 2006;
• their decrees of application, published between 1995 and 1997 and modified in 2006.

The article L. 131-1 of the Code of the inheritance defines the registration of copyright thus:

Organizations assignees

Several “organizations agents” are in charge with the collection, the conservation and the communication of the registration of copyright.

Most important is the National library of France, which receives one or two specimens of each edition published. BnF is agent for the books and periodicals, the partitions, the charts and plans, the prints, sound recordings, the vidéos and the documents multi-media.

The registration of copyright also includes/understands, for the periodic , a specimen with the ministry for the Interior (this obligation was removed for the delivers S). If it is about a work for children, four additional specimens must be had with the ministry Justice.

With regard to television, the radio, and the Internet sites which relate to these media, the registration of copyright is managed by the Inathèque, lodged in the library François Mitterrand. Inathèque de France is the center of consultation of INA.

The deposit of films on photochemical support was entrusted to the National center cinematography.

For the printed books and periodicals, like for certain “specialized” documents, the printers are also held to deposit a specimen of their impressions near a service called library assignee .

The list of the libraries assignees is fixed by decree. It is in general about the Public library of the chief town of area:

Notes and references of the article