Copyright and the employee�s rights in France

France is one of the favorite places of authors, painters, sculptors, novelists or many others. Those professional need to go beyond their artistic inspiration and should hire an IP Lawyer for his “legal inspiration” if they want to keep focusing on the essential…ART!

The French Law protects the original creation of an employee as his own property.

Indeed, the employee owes moral and property rights based on the French Intellectual Property Code, art. L. 111-1.

Thus, the employee has discretion over the decision to:

-   Disclose the creation

-   Disclose his name

-   Impeach the employer to modify the creation

-   Cancel the copyright agreement with his employer (assuming that he will indemnify him)

Also, the employee can sell his property rights regarding:

-   The communication about the creation

-   The copyright

-   The possibility to obtain a percentage on the sales

In any case, if the employee wants to sell his copyrights, writing is required by the French Law (art. 131-2 Intellectual Property Code), otherwise the agreement is void. It is also mandatory to specify the range, the place and the length of the sale.

The selling price cannot be the employee’s salary. It has to be something additional otherwise the agreement is void.

The mandatory way of paying the employee for his work is a commission based payment on the gross sales. It can be different if it is impossible to calculate a fair percentage or if the creation is a software for example (but other exceptions apply).

Only option for the employer who does not want to pay copyrights to his employee: trying to qualify the creation of “teamwork”. In this case, other rules apply.

Intellectual Property in France is a technical field where authors, employees or employers need the assistance of a lawyer experienced in the field.

Sebastien Gaddini, Esq.
Attorney at Law / NY

Document up to date on 10.19.2010

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