Copyright and literary and artistic property lawyer in Strasbourg

A campaign rolled out across several countries, a new visual identity, a photo shoot, a website redesign, the acquisition of a brand: each of these projects raises the question of who holds the rights and which uses are authorised.

Cabinet Bouchara & Avocats advises brands, groups and legal departments on their contracts and creative assets, and represents them when a creation is copied.

We handle copyright matters in France and internationally.

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Our copyright and literary and artistic property services in Strasbourg

Checking who owns the rights in a creation

Before exploiting a creation, two questions must be answered: is it protectable, and who owns the rights?

We work in particular on graphic and advertising creations, photographs, films and audiovisual content, music, texts, visual identities, fashion and design creations, websites, interfaces, software and other digital content.

Depending on the case, we check:

• the originality of the creation;
• the identification of the authors and rights holders;
• creations produced by employees, agencies or service providers;
• works involving several contributors;
• neighbouring rights;
• the reconstruction of the chain of rights;
• the preservation of evidence of the creation.

Where contracts are old or incomplete, our lawyers check which rights were actually acquired and which points may need to be regularised.

Framing relationships with agencies, creators and partners

In copyright law, rights are assigned restrictively. A creation assigned for a specific use will not necessarily cover new media, new countries, adaptations or later campaigns.

Our lawyers draft and negotiate:

• commission and creation contracts;
• copyright assignments and licences;
• contracts with agencies, photographers, designers, studios or developers;
• publishing, production and adaptation contracts;
• authorisations covering third-party content;
• intellectual property clauses in commercial contracts.

We check the authorised uses, the media, the territories, the duration, the scope for adaptation and the rights granted to subsidiaries or partners.

Securing campaigns and content before launch

Before launching an advertising campaign or a new product, or reusing existing content, we check that the available rights actually cover the intended exploitation.

Our lawyers verify:

• that the assets used can lawfully be exploited;
• that the authorisations cover the intended media and territories;
• that, where applicable, the rights of the various contributors have been dealt with;
• that third-party content is used in accordance with the licences obtained;
• that the planned adaptations remain covered by the contracts.

The aim is to surface any missing rights before the content goes live, before materials are printed or before the campaign is rolled out.

Auditing copyright in an acquisition or a restructuring

In an acquisition, copyright accounts for a significant share of the assets taken over: catalogues, photographs, software, websites, advertising archives and graphic creations.

Our lawyers check:

• which rights genuinely belong to the company;
• which contracts that ownership rests on;
• whether any rights are still held by authors or former service providers;
• whether the contracts allow existing exploitation to continue;
• whether the rights can be transferred as part of the transaction;
• whether certain situations need to be regularised.

This analysis is essential where the value of the business rests largely on its content, its creative universe or its digital assets.

Defending your creations and handling disputes

A brand may discover that a visual, a photograph or another creative asset has been reproduced. It may also receive a formal notice from an author, an agency or a rights holder.

In this type of case, we begin by:

• analysing the creation and the rights relied on;
• checking originality and ownership;
• preserving the evidence;
• sending or responding to a formal notice;
• negotiating a withdrawal, a regularisation or a settlement;
• bringing summary or main proceedings;
• carrying out, where the conditions are met, infringement seizure operations (Our team acts both for claimants and for defendants, depending on whether the company is the victim of copying or is being sued for infringement.

  Combining copyright with other intellectual property rights

  A single asset may be covered by several rights.

  A brand’s logo may be protected both as a trade mark and under copyright.

  Packaging may be protected by copyright, designs and trade mark law.

  An advertising or promotional campaign may also involve:

  • photographers, who will have to assign the rights they hold in the photographs taken,
  • people portrayed or featured, who will also have to assign their image rights,
  • various creators, who will have to assign their rights for the purposes of the campaign.

  Our clients benefit from an approach that combines the protection of creations, their contractual exploitation and their defence in the event of a dispute.

  Examples of copyright matters handled by the firm

  Infringement action to protect a fashion creation

  The firm represented a ready-to-wear brand which had found that several operators were marketing a coat reproducing the features of a model developed for one of its collections.

  Following a bailiff’s report and infringement seizure operations, the action was based both on copyright and on the unregistered Community design.

  The court recognised the brand’s ownership of the rights, the originality of the creation and the existence of acts of infringement. This case shows the value of combining several intellectual property rights where the creation concerned is an important asset for the brand.

  Protecting an original product against a copy

  In another case, the firm represented a company holding rights in the design of a product, together with its French distributor, faced with the marketing of a product reproducing several of its features.

  The dispute concerned in particular ownership of the copyright, the originality of the creation and the comparison of the two products.

  The court of appeal confirmed that the creation was protected by copyright and that the competing product amounted to infringement. It also upheld the loss suffered by the distributor on the ground of unfair competition.

  These cases show that copyright litigation goes beyond the question of copying alone: originality, evidence of the creation, ownership, contracts, design rights and complementary grounds all have to be analysed together.

  Defending a company sued over the reuse of a graphic motif

  A textile company was sued for copyright and design infringement and for unfair competition, over the use of a typographic motif on clothing.

  The firm contested in particular the originality of the motif, the ownership of the rights claimed and the validity of the design relied on.

  The court dismissed the claims based on copyright and unfair competition and cancelled the French design relied on, in particular because of its earlier disclosure. This case illustrates how important it is, when a company is challenged, to check carefully how solid the rights asserted against it really are before considering a settlement or a product withdrawal.