Broadcasting organisation (entreprise de communication audiovisuelle)

A broadcasting organisation is the body operating a radio or television service which, in that capacity, holds a related right over its programmes (Article L. 216-1 of the French Intellectual Property Code). This right, derived from the Rome Convention of 1961 and harmonised by EU law, protects the broadcaster’s signal and programming independently of the rights of authors, performers and producers over the content broadcast. It rewards the investment in broadcasting rather than a creation.

The holder and the subject matter of the right

The right belongs to the organisation that broadcasts the programmes under its editorial responsibility, whatever the technique used, terrestrial, satellite, cable or online. The protected subject matter is the programme as a broadcast, that is, the stream organised by the broadcaster, and not the works of which it is made up. A television news bulletin, a sports broadcast or a studio programme are covered, even where they do not constitute works. The broadcaster may therefore sue without demonstrating originality or producing the chain of copyright assignments.

Acts requiring authorisation

The organisation’s authorisation is required for the reproduction of its programmes, their making available to the public by sale, rental or exchange, their broadcasting and their communication to the public in a place accessible to the public against payment of an entrance fee. This last condition is specific to broadcasters, so that the reception of a programme in a bar or a hotel without an entrance fee does not fall within this related right, but may fall within the rights of authors and the statutory licence for phonograms.

Term and interaction with other rights

The right lasts fifty years from 1 January of the calendar year following the first communication of the programmes to the public, under the general regime governing the term of related rights. The broadcaster is often also the videogram producer or the assignee of copyright in the programmes it produces, and it may combine these grounds. The exceptions to related rights, in particular short quotation and press review, may be relied upon against it.

Litigation over unlawful retransmission

Infringement of the broadcaster’s right is an act of infringement, subject to civil sanctions before the judicial courts and to criminal sanctions. Current litigation mainly concerns the live streaming of sports competitions on unlawful websites and applications, for which the legislature has set up a blocking and delisting mechanism under the aegis of ARCOM (French audiovisual and digital communication regulator), allowing measures to be rapidly extended to mirror sites.

Key points

A broadcasting organisation holds a related right over its programmes, which allows it to prohibit their reproduction, their broadcasting and their communication in a public place with paid admission, without having to prove originality. The right lasts fifty years from the first broadcast. In the event of pirate retransmission, act quickly by way of interim proceedings and use the administrative dynamic blocking mechanism, keeping the records of broadcast that establish the infringement.

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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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