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Article
L132-1
A
publishing contract is a contract by which the author of a work of
the mind or his successors in title assign under specified
conditions to a person referred to as the publisher the right to
manufacture or have manufactured a number of copies of the work, it
being for the latter to ensure publication and dissemination
thereof. |
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Article
L132-2
A
contract at the author’s expense shall not constitute a publishing
contract within the meaning of Article
L132-1.
Under such
contract, the author or his successors in title pay to the publisher
an agreed remuneration against which the latter manufactures a
number of copies of the work in the form and according to the modes
of expression specified in the contract and ensures their
publication and
dissemination.
Such
contract constitutes a contract for hire governed by convention,
usage and the provisions of Articles 1787 et seq. of the Civil
Code. |
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Article
L132-3
A
contract at joint expense shall not constitute a publishing contract
within the meaning of Article
L132-1.
Under such
contract, the author or his successors in title commission a
publisher to manufacture at his expense a number of copies of the
work in the form and according to the modes of expression specified
in the contract and to ensure their publication and dissemination in
accordance with the agreement reciprocally contracted to share
profits and losses of exploitation in the agreed
proportion.
Such
contract shall constitute a joint undertaking. It shall be governed,
subject to the provisions of Articles 1871 et seq. of the Civil
Code, by convention and usage. |
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Article
L132-4
A clause
by which the author undertakes to afford a right of preference to a
publisher for the publication of his future works of clearly
specified kinds shall be
lawful.
Such right
shall be limited, for each kind of work, to five new works as from
the day of signature of the publishing contract concluded for the
first work or to works produced by the author within a period of
five years from that same
date.
The publisher
shall exercise the right afforded him by notifying the author in
writing of his decision within three months of the date on which the
author has delivered to him each final
manuscript.
If the
publisher enjoying the right of preference successively refuses two
new works submitted by the author of the kind laid down in the
contract, the author may immediately and automatically recover his
liberty with respect to any future works he produces of that kind.
However, if he has received advances from the first publisher
against his future works, he must first refund such advances. |
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Article
L132-5
The
contract may lay down either remuneration proportional to the
proceeds of exploitation or, in the cases referred to in Articles L.
131-4 and L132-6, a lump sum remuneration. |
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Article
L132-6
In the
case of trade editions, the author’s remuneration for the first
edition may also be in the form of a lump sum, subject to the
formally expressed agreement of the author, in the following
cases:
1°.scientific
and technical
works;
2°.anthologies
and
encyclopedias;
3°.prefaces,
annotations, introductions,
forewords;
4°.illustrations
for a work;
5°.limited
deluxe
editions;
6°.prayer
books;
7°.at the
request of the translator, in the case of
translations;
8°.inexpensive
popular
editions;
9°.inexpensive
picture books for
children.
Lump sum
remuneration may also be paid for the assignment of rights by or to
a person or enterprise established
abroad.
In the case of
works of the mind published in newspapers and periodicals of any
kind and by press agencies, the remuneration of an author bound to
the information enterprise by a contract for hire or of service may
also be laid down as a lump sum. |
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Article
L132-7
The
personal consent of the author given in writing shall be
obligatory.
Notwithstanding
the provisions that govern contracts made by minors and adults under
guardianship, consent shall be required even in the case of a
legally incompetent author, unless he is physically unable to give
his consent.
The
provisions of the preceding paragraph shall not apply if the
publishing contract is signed by the author’s successors in
title. |
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Article
L132-8
The
author shall guarantee the publisher the undisturbed and, unless
otherwise agreed, exclusive exercise of the right
assigned.
He shall be
required to ensure respect for the right and to defend it against
any possible violation. |
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Article
L132-9
The
author shall put the publisher in a position to manufacture and
disseminate copies of the
work.
He shall deliver
to the publisher, within the period of time stipulated in the
contract, the subject matter of publication in a form permitting
normal manufacture.
The
subject matter of publication furnished by the author shall remain
the property of the author unless otherwise agreed or technically
impossible. The publisher shall remain responsible for the subject
matter of publication for a period of one year after completion of
manufacture. |
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Article
L132-10
The
publishing contract must state the minimum number of copies that
constitute the first printing. However, this obligation shall not
apply to contracts laid down at minimum royalties guaranteed by the
publisher. |
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Article
L132-11
The
publisher shall be required to manufacture the work or have it
manufactured under the conditions, in the form and according to the
modes of expression laid down in the
contract.
He may not
make any modification to the work without the written authorization
of the author.
Unless
otherwise agreed, he shall place on each of the copies the name,
pseudonym or symbol of the
author.
Unless there is
a special agreement, the publisher shall complete the publication
within the term customary in the
trade.
In the case of a
contract of fixed duration, the rights of the assignee shall lapse
automatically on expiry of that term without need of any formal
notice.
However, for
three years after expiry of that term, the publisher may continue to
market at the normal price the copies remaining in stock, unless the
author prefers to buy the copies at a price which, in the absence of
an amicable agreement, shall be fixed according to expert opinion,
whereby this faculty afforded the first publisher shall not prevent
the author from proceeding with a new edition within a period of 30
months. |
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Article
L132-12
The
publisher shall be required to ensure continuous and sustained
exploitation and commercial dissemination of the work in accordance
with the practices of the trade. |
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Article
L132-13
The
publisher shall be required to render
accounts.
In the
absence of special conditions stipulated in the contract, the author
may require the publisher to produce, at least once a year, a
statement of the number of copies manufactured during the period in
question and specifying the date and size of the printings and the
number of copies in
stock.
In the absence
of contrary usage or agreement, the statement shall also contain the
number of copies sold by the publisher, the number of copies that
cannot be used or have been destroyed by accident or due to
unavoidable circumstances and the amount of royalties due or paid to
the author. |
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Article
L132-14
The
publisher shall be required to furnish the author with all evidence
required to establish the accuracy of his
accounts.
If the
publisher fails to provide the necessary evidence, he shall be
obliged to do so by the court. |
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Article
L132-15
Judicial
rehabilitation of the publisher shall not terminate the contract.
Where activities are continued in application of Articles 31 et seq.
of Act No. 85-98 of January 25, 1985, on the Judicial Rehabilitation
and Liquidation of Enterprises, all of the publisher’s obligations
with regard to the author shall be
respected.
Where the
publishing enterprise is sold in application of Articles 81 et seq.
of the above-mentioned Act No. 85-98 of January 25, 1985, the
purchaser shall be held to the obligations of the
seller.
Where the
activities of the enterprise have ceased more than three months
earlier or where judicial liquidation is pronounced, the author may
request termination of the
contract.
The
liquidator may not sell at reduced price or sell out the
manufactured copies in accordance with Articles 155 and 156 of Act
No. 85-98 of January 25, 1985, referred to above, until at least 15
days after having notified the author of his intention by means of a
registered letter with acknowledgment of
receipt.
The author
shall have a right of preemption on all or part of the copies.
Failing agreement, the price shall be fixed by expert opinion. |
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Article
L132-16
The
publisher may not transmit the benefits of the publishing contract
to a third party, for or without payment, or as a contribution to
the assets of a partnership, independently of the business, without
first having obtained the authorization of the
author.
In the event of
transfer of the business in such a way as to seriously compromise
the material and moral interests of the author, the latter shall be
entitled to obtain reparation even by means of termination of the
contract.
Where the
publishing business was run as a company or a coparcenary, the
allocation of the business to one of the former partners or one of
the coparceners, as a consequence of liquidation or division, shall
in no case be considered a transfer. |
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Article
L132-17
The
publishing contract shall end, independently of the cases laid down
in the general rules of law or in the preceding Articles, when the
publisher carries out the complete destruction of the
copies.
The contract
shall terminate automatically if, upon formal notice by the author
fixing a reasonable period of time, the publisher has not effected
publication of the work or, should the work be out of print, its
republication.
The work
shall be deemed out of print if two orders for delivery of copies
addressed to the publisher have not been met within three
months.
If, in the
event of the author’s death, the work is incomplete, the contract
shall be rescinded as regards the unfinished part of the work,
except as otherwise agreed between the publisher and the author’s
successors in title. |
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