French legislation about 'out-of-print' books in breach of Directive 2001/29

16-11-2016 Print this page
IPPT20161116, CJEU, Soulier and Doke

COPYRIGHT

 

French legilsation which authorizes an approved collecting society to reproduce and commercially exploit out-of-print books and gives authors the right to oppose only under certain circumstances is in breach of Directive 2001/29.

 

"Having regard to all of the foregoing considerations, the answer to the question is that Article 2(a) and Article 3(1) of Directive 2001/29 must be interpreted as precluding national legislation, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, that gives an approved collecting society the right to authorise the reproduction and communication to the public in digital form of 'out-of-print'- books, namely, books published in France before 1 January 2001 which are no longer commercially distributed by a publisher and are not currently published in print or in digital form, while allowing the authors of those books, or their successors in title, to oppose or put an end to that practice, on the conditions that that legislation lays down."

 

IPPT20161116, CJEU, Soulier and Doke

C-301/15 - ECLI:EU:C:2016:878