The provisions on the protection of technological measures under Copyright, related rights and database rights Act of April 18, 2001 (as amended on April 18, 2004)

PART 7bis.

Protection of technological measures and rights-management information

Sub-Part 1. Technological Measures

Section 71ter. In this Act "technological measures" means any technology, device or component that, in the normal course of its operation, is designed to prevent or restrict acts, in respect of works or performances, which are not authorised by the right holder of any copyright or any right related to copyright as provided for by law or the sui generis right provided for in Part 6 of the present Act

Technological measures shall be deemed effective where the use of a protected work or performances is controlled by the right holders through application of an access control or protection process, such as encryption, scrambling or other transformation of the work or performances or a copy control mechanism, which achieves the protection objective.

Section 71quater. The circumvention of any effective technological measures, which the person concerned carries out in the knowledge, or with reasonable grounds to know, that he or she is pursuing that objective, is restricted.

The manufacture, import, distribution, sale, rental, advertisement for sale or rental, or possession for commercial purposes of devices, products or components or the provision of services is also restricted if these devices or services are promoted, advertised or marketed for the purpose of circumvention of, or have only a limited commercially significant purpose or use other than to circumvent, or are primarily designed, produced, adapted or performed for the purpose of enabling or facilitating the circumvention of any effective technological measures.

A person who commits a restricted act under previous paragraphs 1 and 2 and is not acting for a strictly private purpose is held criminally liable under Section 83 of the present Act.

Any interested person, including a body authorised by the present Act to manage copyright, related rights or database rights is entitled to take injunction proceedings, in accordance with Section 81 of the present Act, in order to make cease an act restricted under paragraphs 1 and 2 above.

Section 71quinquies. Notwithstanding the legal protection for technological measures, the right holders must take necessary measures, in particular by contract, to ensure the beneficiaries, accessing lawfully a protected work or performance, an exercise without restriction, according to conditions provided therein, for the following exceptions :

1Â° illustration for teaching as provided by Sections 10, 2Â° and 46, 9Â°,

2Â° reproduction for private use as provided by Sections 10, 4Â° et 46, 4Â°,

3Â° recordings of works made by broadcasting organizations as provided by Sections 10, 9Â° et 46, 7Â°,

4Â° reproduction made by libraries, etc. as provided by Section 10, 10Â°

5Â° use for the benefit of people with a disability,as provided by Section 10, 11Â°

6Â° use for the purposes of public security or to ensure the proper performance or reporting of proceedings; as provided by Section 10, 12Â°,

7Â° database use as provided by Sections 10bis and 68.

Insofar as rights holders do not take measures provided under first paragraph, the beneficiaries of the exceptions, a professional association or an association representing their interests are entitled to take injunction proceedings, in accordance with Section 81 of the present Act, in order to make cease the application of technological measures impeding the exercise of the exceptions.

Technological measures voluntarily taken by the right holders, in accordance with paragraph 1, including those applied in implementation of voluntary agreements, and those possibly implemented in compliance with a judicial decision are protected against circumvention in accordance with Section 71quater above.

The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 of the present Section do not apply to works or performances made available to the public on agreed contractual terms in such a way that members of the public may access them from a place and at a time individually chosen by them.

Section 71 (4). The present Act does not apply to technological measures used in connection with computer programs.

The provisions on technological protection of software

Section 37. Special measures of protection

1. Are committing a counterfeiting act involving their civil and criminal liability, the persons who :

a) allow the circulation of a copy of a computer program in the knowledge, or with reason to believe, that it is unlawful

b) possess of a copy of a computer program for commercial purposes in the knowledge, or with reason to believe, that it is unlawful;

c) allow the circulation or possess for commercial purposes of any means the sole intended purpose of which is to facilitate the unauthorized elimination or disablement of possibly built-in technical devices for the protection of the computer program

2. Any unlawful copy of a computer program shall be susceptible of seizure.

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Translation by Corentin Poullet