Legal deposit (dépôt légal)

Legal deposit is the obligation imposed on publishers, producers, importers and distributors to deliver to depositary institutions one or more copies of the documents they make available to the public, so as to ensure their collection, preservation and consultation for heritage and research purposes. It is governed by the Heritage Code (Articles L. 131-1 et seq.). It is neither a condition of protection by copyright, which arises from the mere fact of creation, nor an intellectual property formality, but it produces useful evidential effects.

The scope of the obligation

Legal deposit applies to printed, graphic and photographic documents, sound and audiovisual documents, software and databases, multimedia documents, as well as signs, signals, writings, images, sounds or messages communicated to the public by electronic means, which has included websites since the Act of 1 August 2006. The depositaries are the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the Institut national de l’audiovisuel for radio and television, and the Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée for cinematographic works. For the internet, collection is carried out by the depositaries themselves, by automated harvesting, without any step on the part of the publisher.

Obligations and sanctions

The deposit is in principle the responsibility of the publisher or, failing that, of the printer, the producer or the importer, and must take place no later than the day on which the document is made available to the public. The deposit is free of charge for the depositor and the depositaries pay no remuneration. Failure to deposit is a criminal offence punishable by a fine. Deposited documents may be consulted on the depositaries’ premises without this consultation infringing authors’ rights, the Heritage Code providing a specific exception for the benefit of depositary institutions for reproduction and on-site consultation.

Interaction with intellectual property

Legal deposit is independent of protection and must not be confused with a deposit that confers a right, unlike the filing of a trade mark or a design. It does, however, provide a certain date of making available to the public, which may be relied upon against third parties and may serve as evidence of the date of creation or, at the very least, of disclosure of a work, for instance to establish priority in a copyright dispute or the existence of a novelty-destroying disclosure in design matters. Legal deposit does not, however, amount to a presumption of ownership, which flows from disclosure under the author’s name, and it does not replace a Soleau envelope for an undisclosed creation.

Key points

Legal deposit is a heritage obligation and not a condition of protection by copyright, which arises without formality. It covers all documents made available to the public, including software and online content, and failure to comply is a criminal offence. In practice, the publisher must make sure that the deposit has been made no later than the release date, and the rightholder may use it to establish a certain date of publication, in addition to the other means of proving creation.

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This glossary entry is general in scope and does not constitute legal advice.

Dhenne Avocats is a patent litigation firm. Matters outside that field, such as trade marks, designs, copyright and IT contracts, are handled by practitioners the firm works with regularly, and by the firm itself when they arise in a patent dispute.

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