Personality rights

Personality rights are the prerogatives attached to the human person which protect his or her identity and moral integrity, in particular the right to respect for private life (Article 9 of the Civil Code), the right to one’s image, the right to one’s name, the right to one’s voice and the right to honour. They differ from intellectual property rights in that they relate not to a creation or a sign but to the person himself or herself. They are nonetheless close to them, since the author’s moral right derives from them and since names and images commonly serve as distinctive signs.

The characteristics of personality rights

These rights are non-economic, inalienable and not subject to loss through lapse of time. They end in principle on the person’s death, the heirs being able to act only against an attack on the memory or dignity of the deceased, or to obtain compensation for personal harm. Their inalienability does not prevent contractual authorisations of exploitation, limited in their object and duration. Legal scholarship debates the recognition of a genuine economic right in one’s image, which positive law does not expressly enshrine.

The components and their regimes

The right to respect for private life covers family life, love life, health, the home and correspondence. The right to one’s image and the right to one’s voice make it possible to object to the capture and dissemination of these attributes without consent. The right to one’s surname protects against usurpation and governs the use of the name as a trade mark. Honour and reputation fall under the Act of 29 July 1881 on freedom of the press, whose formalistic procedure and three-month limitation period bind the claimant, with no possibility of circumventing that regime through Article 1240 of the Civil Code.

Interaction with intellectual property

Trade mark law makes infringement of a personality right, in particular of a third party’s name or image, a ground for refusal or invalidity. The photographer’s copyright coexists with the right of the person photographed over his or her image, so that each may prohibit the other from making an unauthorised exploitation. The performer enjoys a moral right over his or her name and performance which extends his or her personality rights. Lastly, deepfake techniques have led the legislature to punish the dissemination of algorithmically generated content depicting a person without his or her consent.

Litigation

The court may, without prejudice to compensation for the harm suffered, order any measures appropriate to prevent or bring to an end an intrusion into the intimacy of private life, if need be in interim proceedings. The judicial court has jurisdiction and the infringement alone gives rise to a right to compensation. Violations of privacy and of personality rights are excluded from the scope of the Rome II Regulation, so that the law applicable to cross-border violations is determined by national conflict rules.

Key points

Personality rights protect private life, image, name, voice and honour, through inalienable prerogatives, not subject to loss through lapse of time, which end on death. For any exploitation, obtain a precise written authorisation. In the event of an attack on honour, act within the three-month period of the Press Act, failing which the claim is time-barred.

---

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.

Intellectual property attorney · Tell us about your situation