IPR / Legal Problems
related to PSIP
implementation
By
Michel Vivant
Professor at the University of Montpellier (F)
Expert consultant for French and European Authorities
Consultant to lawyers and companies
Partner « of counsel » in the Law Firm
Denton Wilde Sapte Paris
Law is everywhere
Intellectual Property
too !
Intellectual Property is everywhere…
 Copyright
 Design
 Patents
 Trademarks
and so on
Intellectual Property is everywhere…
 All
through the “ chain ”
At the end
IP is a protection for the platform
Intellectual Property is everywhere…
 All
through the “ chain ”
At the end
IP is a protection for the platform
At the beginning
IP is a constraint for the platform
That means
That means
A stake
That means
A stake
Security
IP is basically
a problem of
security
Two rights have to be considered
specifically
 Copyright
and “ droit d’auteur ”
 Trademarks
With the most delicate problems for coyright and
droit d’auteur
These rights, as the other IP
rights, are territorial rights
That means an English Copyright,
a Spanish Droit d’auteur, a German
Trademark…
Nevertheless
• It’s not possible to study here the problem
of “ conflicts of laws ”
• It’s an important problem
• … but very complicated
You have to know that the national systems
differ appreciably
Here we shall be focused on several salient
points
Rights, territorial rights, complex rights…
But rights you have to overcome
(I)
If we speak about copyright and droit
d’auteur (but maybe too about
trademarks),
there is a fundamental rule you must
know:
Everything which is not allowed
is prohibited !
Main consequence:
To think systematically contract
To think contracts
That means…

•
•
•
•
•
•
To identify the
potential right owners
Authors of texts
Authors of musics
Photographers
Drawers
Computer Graphists
Programmers
…/…
To think contracts
That means…

To identify the potential
right owners
• Authors of texts
• Authors of musics
• Photographers
• Drawers
• Computer Graphists
• Programmers
…/…
And that even if the project
is centralized
- with a sole manager
To think contracts
That means…

To identify the potential
right owners
• Authors of texts
• Authors of musics
• Photographers
• Drawers
• Computer Graphists
• Programmers
…/…
And that even if the project
is centralized
- with a sole manager

To verify that these
partners have effectively
the relevant rights
To think contracts
That means…

To identify the potential right
owners
• Authors of texts
• Authors of musics
• Photographers
• Drawers
• Computer Graphists
• Programmers
…/…
And that even if the project is
centralized
- with a sole manager

To verify that these partners
have effectively the relevant
rights

The practice of clauses of
guarantee
Caution !
 You
must know that a work on Internet is
not “ free ”, for the sole reason it is on the
net
Caution !
 You
must know that a work on Internet is
not “ free ”, for the sole reason it is on the
net
 You must know also that “ free softwares ”,
“ free works ”, “ creative commons ” don’t
mean freedom
Free Works = Specific contraints
To think contracts
means…

To identify the potential right
owners
 To verify that these partners
have effectively the relevant
rights

To obtain from these right
owners the “ useful ” rights
All the useful rights
For instance
* Reproduction
* Representation
Broadcasting
* Translation
…/…
To think contracts
means…

To identify the potential right
owners
 To verify that these partners
have effectively the relevant
rights

To obtain from these right
owners the “ useful ” rights

According to the different
systems,
aiming the modes of
exploitation
For instance : on line and/or
off line; Web; Wap; TV…
To think contracts
means…


To identify the potential
right owners
To verify that these
partners have effectively
the relevant rights


To obtain from these right
owners the “ useful ”
rights
According to the different
systems,
aiming the modes of
exploitation

For all the world
Rights you have to overcome
Rights you can exploit ( II )
IPR are also “ weapons ” for you
These same IP Rights can be relied on
• The different components of the platform
• But also on the platform itself
as work
A platform is a Website and a Website is a protected
work or more exactly a work which can be protected
Rights you have to overcome
Rights you can exploit
IPR are also “ weapons ” for you
These same IP Rights can be relied on
• The different components of the platform
• But also on the platform itself
as work
A platform is a Website and a Website is a protected
work or more exactly a work which can be protected
And so you can act in a court for infrigement
Several practice advices…
 The
useful… useless mention of copyright
© michel vivant 2005
 The
 The
interest of clear advices on line
legal european obligation of
information
Warning
Warning
( III )
Law and legal problems about platform
is not limited to IP
You have also to think about
• Hyperlinks…
 Hyperlinks
of liability
: IP and other general problems
 Hyperlinks
: IP and other general problems
of liability
 “ Droit à l’image ” ( ± privacy )
 Hyperlinks
: IP and other general problems
of liability
 “ Droit à l’image ” ( ± privacy )
 “ Computer and Liberty ” Laws
 Hyperlinks
: IP and other general problems
of liability
 “ Droit à l’image ” ( ± privacy )
 “ Computer and Liberty ” Laws
 “ Co-branding ”
 Hyperlinks
: IP and other general problems
of liability
 “ Droit à l’image ” ( ± privacy )
 “ Computer and Liberty ” Laws
 “ Co-branding ”
 E-commerce
Offers and contracts
 Hyperlinks
: IP and other general problems
of liability
 “ Droit à l’image ” ( ± privacy )
 “ Computer and Liberty ” Laws
 “ Co-branding ”
 E-commerce
 Liability





Hyperlinks : IP and other general problems of
liability
“ Droit à l’image ” ( ± privacy )
“ Computer and Liberty ” Laws
“ Co-branding ”
E-commerce
Liability

* General Liability
* “ Information Liability ”
* Penal Law
…/…
Law is everywhere…
Thank you !
Merci !
Gracias !
m.vivant@wanadoo.fr