Rights

“The author of a work of the mind shall enjoy, by the mere fact of its creation, an exclusive incorporeal property right which shall be enforceable against all persons.” –

Art. L111-1 of the French Intellectual Property Code (CPI)

“Any complete or partial performance or reproduction made without the consent of the author or his successors in title or assign shall be unlawful (…)”.

Art. L122-4 of the French Intellectual Property Code.

The term of protection is author’s life plus seventy years.

Moral right

This is the right linking the authors to their work.

“This is the legally-protected link, connecting the creator to his/her work, and granting the creator supreme prerogatives over users, even if the work has entered the economic circuit”.

Pierre-Yves Gautier- Propriété Littéraire et Artistique – Editions Puf

Moral right comprises four elements:

Right Of Disclosure:

The author alone shall decide how his work shall be disclosed to the public, thus keeping a better control over his work.

“The author alone has the right to disclose his work. Under reserve of provisions of article L132-4, he decides the process of disclosure and sets the conditions (…)”

Article L21-2 of the Intellectual Property Code.

Right Of Authorship:

Whatever the circumstances, the author has the right to claim the paternity of the work, and to be acknowledged as the “father” of the work, as the author.

“The author shall enjoy the right to respect for his name, his authorship and his work”.

Article L121-1 of the French Intellectual Property Code.

Right Of Integrity Of The Work :

The author enjoys the right to demand that both the physical integrity and the destination of the work be respected.
Practically, in the case of the Succession Jacques Hitier, all authorizations are granted under the condition that the work be reproduced without alteration and with absolute fidelity. The reproduced work shall not be cropped, mutilated, altered, and colours shall be faithful to the original work . . .Besides, the use of the work shall not be detrimental to the work and reputation of Jacques Hitier.

All licensees are consequently under the obligation to provide SUCCESSION JACQUES HITIER with prototypes for the exercise of moral right. This also applies for all promotional material.

Right To Redeem :

The author has the right to withdraw the work form the economic circuit, provided he indemnifies its owner or seller.

It is important to underline that moral right is perpetual (it survives after the author’s death and the work’s entry into the public domain), inalienable (it cannot be transferred) and imprescriptible (it is not lost for lack of use).

Users are under the obligation to obtain a printer’s proof or “bon-à-tirer” prior to any manufacturing and distribution of the products.

Failure to respect moral right constitutes a counterfeiting offence.

The Succession stipulates in its contracts that only photographic sources of good quality shall be used for reproduction (1st generation Ektachrome from museums or specialised photographic agencies). It is specifically prohibited to scan works reproduced in books. Users must consequently clear photographic rights with the said organisms, independently from the Succession’s authors’ rights.

Trademarks

A trademark is a distinctive sign which enables a firm to differentiate its products or services from those of its competitors.

Trademark right enables its holder to prohibit any non-authorized third party from using the registered sign in trade.

The Succession Jacques Hitier has already registered as mark the name and/or the signature of Jacques HITIER in certain classes of products and services in many countries, notably in order to be able to prohibit unauthorized third parties from doing business with this name or signature. 

No one has the right to register the name, signature or even a work by Jacques Hitier as a trademark without the Succession Jacques Hitier’s authorization.

“A sign may not be adopted as a mark if it infringes earlier rights”.

Article L711-4 of the French Intellectual Property Code. And in particular literary and artistic property rights and personality rights.

The Succession Jacques Hitier systematically initiates proceedings for the opposition, actions to set aside or invalidate, or actions for trademark infringement or unfair competition (parasitism) against those who irregularly register the name and/or the signature of Jacques Hitier, thus pretending to have been granted authorization by the Succession Jacques Hitier (which can infringe upon rights already conceded to third parties) and to derive illegitimate profits from Jacques Hitier’s notoriety (parasitism).

Personality Rights

This consists in the right of famous persons to control the commercial exploitation of their personality, either personally or by conceding the exploitation, for commercial or advertising purposes, of elements evoking their personality (name, likeness, voice) and to oppose any potential non-authorized marketing. 

The name and likeness of Jacques Hitier are patrimonial elements pertaining to the monopoly of the Succession. Third parties wishing to use them are under the obligation to submit a request to SUCCESSION JACQUES HITIER. 

Unauthorised uses are sanctioned by courts according to civil liability mechanisms and parasitism.