Resumen de France: : Details of conditions for INA using artists’ performances
With its decision delivered on 14 October 2015, the Court of Cassation has provided details on respect for the neighbouring rights of performing artists when their performances are used by the Institut National de l’Audiovisuel (National Audiovisual Institute - INA). The INA has a public-service mission to conserve, use, and make available France’s audiovisual heritage. More specifically, under its most recent terms of reference, the INA has undertaken to “improve the editorialisation of its archives by constituting a themed multimedia offer that is as relevant and as accessible as possible, while respecting beneficiaries’ rights”. The INA therefore concluded, notably between 2005 and 2008, various general and collective agreements with the representatives of the beneficiaries concerned (writers, producers, performers, etc). This agreement has been consolidated by Article 44 of the Code de la Propriété Intellectuelle (Intellectual Property Act - CPI) of 1 August 2006, which reinforces the presumption of the transfer of performers’ rights to the INA as resulted, in the audiovisual field, from Article L. 212-4 of the CPI. This Article amended Article 49 II of Act No. 86-1067 of 30 September 1986 on freedom of communication, according to which “the INA exercises the rights to use the audiovisual archives of the national programme companies while respecting the moral and pecuniary rights of the holders of copyright and neighbouring rights and of their beneficiaries; nevertheless, Articles L. 212-3 and L. 212-4 of the CPI notwithstanding, the conditions for using the performances of artists contained in the archives and the remuneration generated by such use are governed by a number of agreements concluded between the performers themselves or the employee organisations representing the performers, and the INA. These agreements ought to lay down the scale of remunerations and the ways in which such remuneration is to be paid”
