Copyright lawyers in Lyon

A work used without authorisation, an imprecise contract or an incomplete chain of title can undermine a project and expose the business to litigation. Our copyright law firm in Lyon assists companies, directors and in-house legal teams in protecting their creative works, securing their exploitation and defending their interests.

Based in the Lyon metropolitan area, Bouchara & Avocats acts in advisory work, in pre-litigation and in litigation, in France as well as internationally.

Would you like to protect a creative work, secure a contract or respond to unauthorised use? Contact Bouchara & Avocats.

A firm specialising in intellectual property | An office in the Lyon metropolitan area | Advice, negotiation and litigation | Support in France and internationally

Our copyright and literary and artistic property services in Lyon

In a business context, copyright arises in many situations: creating a visual identity, developing software, a photo shoot, producing content, designing a website or acquiring intangible assets.

It is a central component of literary and artistic property, which also covers related rights (in particular those of performers and producers).

Bouchara & Avocats advises on all of these issues wherever they need to be reconciled in order to protect or exploit a creative work. Our support is tailored to your business and to your operational objectives.

Protecting works and building the evidence

Under copyright law, protection arises from the act of creation alone, provided the work is original. No filing is required to obtain that protection. It nonetheless remains essential to be able to establish the content of the work, its date and the identity of the people who contributed to it (article L.111-1 of the French Intellectual Property Code)

Our lawyers assist you in particular with:

• analysing which elements may be protected by copyright or by related rights;
• identifying the works that should be the subject of evidential measures;
• organising the retention of files, working versions and project correspondence;
• preparing an e-Soleau filing with the INPI;
• arranging, where relevant, a report by a judicial commissioner;
• assembling the material required before sending a cease-and-desist letter or issuing proceedings.

An evidential filing does not create copyright. It does, however, date the material and make it easier to demonstrate that a work existed at a given time.

Auditing ownership of the rights

Commissioning or funding a creative work is not enough to hold all the rights in it. The question arises in particular for works produced by employees, freelancers, agencies, studios or several contributors.

We check the chain of title against the available contracts, assignments and correspondence, in order to determine on what terms the business may exploit, modify or assign the work.

An audit matters particularly before:

• launching a new product or service;
• a communication or advertising campaign;
• marketing a software programme or a piece of content;
• a fundraising round or the acquisition of a company;
• the sale of a business division;
• taking over a catalogue, a brand or digital assets.

We identify any breaks in the chain of title and help you put in place the additional instruments required.

Drafting and negotiating copyright contracts

Contract drafting is at the heart of our copyright and literary and artistic property practice.

We draft, negotiate and audit in particular:

• copyright assignment agreements ;
• copyright licences ;
• commission agreements;
• graphic design agreements;
• agreements and releases covering the related rights of performers and producers;
• agreements with agencies and studios;
• publishing and production agreements;
• co-production agreements;
• adaptation agreements;
• intellectual property clauses in employment and services contracts;
• releases covering photographs, videos, music and editorial content.

We take care to define precisely the rights concerned, the authorised uses, the media, the territory, the term, whether or not the authorisation is exclusive, and the financial terms.

A general formula providing that « all rights are assigned » is not always enough to secure the intended exploitation: the rights transferred and their scope of exploitation must be precisely defined (article L.131-3 of the French Intellectual Property Code).

Our lawyers’ role is to translate the practical needs of your project into the contract, so that an imprecision does not later block an adaptation, a release on a new medium or an international exploitation.

Exploiting and monetising creative works

We assist businesses seeking to organise or expand the exploitation of their creative works and their literary and artistic property assets.

Our work may cover in particular:

• exploiting a catalogue of images, photographs or content;
• making a work available to a partner or a distributor;
• granting rights to a licensee;
• the use of creative works by the members of a network;
• adapting content to new formats;
• releasing a work across several media or territories;
• monetising copyright in the context of a financial transaction;
• transferring rights in an acquisition or a restructuring.

We can also coordinate the copyright analysis with the other rights liable to apply to the project: trade mark law, designs and models, image rights, digital law and unfair competition.

This joined-up approach avoids a work being exploited on the basis of a single right where several authorisations or protections need to be reconciled.

Copyright pre-litigation and litigation

If your business identifies unauthorised use of its works or receives a claim, we help you define the most appropriate strategy.

We act in particular to:

• verify ownership and the extent of the rights;
• analyse the works at issue and the disputed uses;
• collect and preserve the evidence;
• prepare or respond to a cease-and-desist letter;
• seek the removal or cessation of a use;
• negotiate a settlement, a licence or a regularisation;
• bring or defend infringement proceedings;
• apply for interim relief or an infringement seizure;
• claim compensation;
• prepare and file applications for action with the customs authorities.
• combine, where the case warrants it, an unfair competition claim or a free-riding claim.

Our team acts both for rights holders and for the businesses against which claims are brought. Our lawyers advise you from the first exchanges, during a negotiation phase or before the competent courts.

Copyright disputes may be brought before the Lyon Judicial Court and then, on appeal, before the Lyon Court of Appeal. Which court has jurisdiction depends on the nature of the dispute, the parties involved and the facts at issue.

Would you like to check your rights, secure a contract or respond to an infringement of your works? Speak to our copyright team in Lyon.

Which works do we protect under copyright law?

Our firm assists businesses in protecting and exploiting a wide range of works covered by copyright and, more broadly, by literary and artistic property, in particular:

• musical and literary works;
• audiovisual works;
• graphic and advertising creations;
• works of fine and applied art;
• photographs;
• websites;
• software;
• digital content.

This list is not exhaustive, and we help you determine which protection is best suited to your works.

Situations our team in Lyon has handled

Copying of a software programme or a video game

A company found that a third party was reusing several elements of its software or video game without authorisation. Our firm analysed the various components of the project, verified ownership of the rights and organised the collection of evidence in order to prepare a cease-and-desist letter and obtain the cessation of the disputed uses.

Unauthorised use of a visual identity

A company discovered that its visual identity was still being used by a former partner beyond the uses originally agreed. We reviewed the agreements entered into with the agency, verified the chain of title and assisted our client in negotiating an agreement governing the continuation or the cessation of that use.

Reuse of protected content

A company identified the reproduction of photographs, texts and graphic works in a competitor’s communication materials. Our team had the uses formally recorded, assembled the material establishing the company’s rights and brought proceedings to stop the reproductions and obtain compensation for the loss suffered.

Exploiting assets after an acquisition

After acquiring a business division, a company found that certain creative assets were still being used by a third party without authorisation. Our firm audited the assignment instruments, identified the rights actually transferred and assisted the company in regularising the situation and securing the future exploitation of those assets.

A law firm specialising in copyright in Lyon

The Lyon region is home to a substantial community of creative and digital businesses, in particular in audiovisual production, animation, video games, software, design and communication. In Villeurbanne, Pôle Pixel brings together professionals from film, animation, audiovisual production, video games and digital arts.

These activities regularly raise questions of ownership, of collaboration between several contributors, of contract drafting and of exploiting works across different media.

Bouchara & Avocats is based in Saint-Didier-au-Mont-d’Or, in the Lyon metropolitan area. There we receive the businesses, directors and in-house legal teams looking for local support on copyright and literary and artistic property matters.

Our presence in Lyon allows matters to be followed directly, while giving access to the full range of the firm’s expertise in intellectual property, digital law, trade mark law, designs and models, and litigation.

We also act on national and international projects where works are exploited beyond the Lyon region.

A firm recognised in copyright and literary and artistic property

Bouchara & Avocats and its lawyers are regularly recognised by French and international directories devoted to intellectual property, copyright and literary and artistic property.

Chambers France 2026 — Intellectual Property: Trade Mark & Copyright
Vanessa Bouchara — Band 2, thirteen years in the rankings.

Legal 500 France 2026 — Intellectual Property: Copyright
Bouchara & Avocats — Copyright.

IP STARS — Managing IP 2026 — Copyright & Related Rights
Bouchara & Avocats.

Best Law Firms 2026 — Art Law
Bouchara & Avocats — Paris Tier 2.

Best Lawyers in France
Vanessa Bouchara — Art Law and Intellectual Property Law, recognised since 2020.

These distinctions reflect our team’s experience in protecting, contracting, exploiting and defending creative works.

See our awards and rankings