Adapting French Copyright Laws to New Information Challenges

Abstract

Lebed' (Efremova) Valeria - Senior Researcher, Institute of State and Law, Russian Academy of Sciences, Candidate of Juridical Sciences. Address: 10 Znamenka Str., Moscow, 119019, Russian Federation. E-mail: vefremova@bk.ru.

The article analyzes French normative and doctrinal material as well as judicial practice on the use oftraditional and non-traditional objects of copyright in the current digital reality. It features changes inlegal relations between subjects and objects of copyright in the information society. The author studiesmodern European in particular French legal mechanisms of regulating copyright relations. It has beennoted that France responds to new requirements of digital reality though maintains traditional conceptualfundamentals of copyright which still rest on the balance of interests of author, product of creativityand society. Besides, the author has examined legal regime of multimedia products in particular Internetweb sites and audio-visual works. French law has achieved a good level to make legal and digital realiacloser. The article touches upon the problem of implementing and protecting author’s rights on the Internet;notes that implementing and violating copyright in particular unauthorized copying of works is asubject matter for an academic discussion in France. The mechanisms of fighting piracy are connectedwith two directions of activity: the system of blocking access to web sites with the information violatingcopyright limiting illegal offer and prosecuting violators. The opportunity provided by law to a copyrightholder to enforce blocking the access to unauthorized sites aims to reduce their number. On the otherhand, the scheme of gradual reaction is an opportunity to escape the trial and meet the interests of theauthors of creative works. Hence, the French legislator ensures the protection of intellectual propertyand guards the interests of society providing accessibility to cultural, informational and other resources.