United States of America

France

Copyright and Related Rights

1. Please explain whether and how French law provides protection for works, phonograms and performances from other WTO Members, and whether and how it does so on the basis of national treatment, as required by TRIPS Article 3 (generally, with respect to all copyrights and neighbouring rights) and Article 9.1 (incorporating Berne Article 5(1)). In particular, please explain how national treatment is afforded with respect to the distribution of levies for private copying under the relevant provisions of your law.

In accordance with Article 55 of the Constitution, international agreements are directly incorporated into the internal legal system. France has been a party to the Berne Convention since 5 December 1887. The two fundamental rules laid down by the Berne Convention in favour of authors, national treatment and moral rights, are therefore granted to foreign authors. Levies for private copying for American authors of musical and audiovisual works are paid through collective management companies responsible under the law for collecting and distributing the levies.