Legal Insights

This is a presidential campaign video which created a buzz. Eager to show France, its history, its knowledge and its culture, Eric Zemmour illustrated his words with many images, without any authorization from the holders of the rights to the footage used. Could he rely on the copyright exception known as the “short quotation exception” (known as exception de courte citation under French law) or freedom of expression to circumvent copyright?

The Paris Judicial Court says no; the rights holders must be compensated and the video removed. However, could not the judges have ruled out any infringement on the ground that the very short footage at issue were merely incidental to the political speech?

Over the years, risk management has become a major issue for companies. For decades, they have been faced with an increased criminalization of their activities and an explosion of new and increasingly complex regulations in a wide variety of fields such as the protection of personal data and respect for the environment.

This regulatory hell is paved with good intentions. The rule of law must guarantee a free competition environment where the dices are not loaded and where corruption has no place.

The Legal Committee of the Association Nationale des Sociétés par Actions (French association of joint stock companies, commonly referred to by its acronym “ANSA”) met on March 2, 2022 to express its opinion on the application, in the context of cross-border simplified mergers, of the exemption from the obligation to prepare a written report provided for in the context of domestic simplified mergers.

A brief reminder of the applicable rules in this area is necessary before presenting the issue at stake and the clarification given by ANSA.

In a decision handed down on March 16, 2022, the Cour de Cassation (French Supreme court) has made an important clarification to its case law regarding the reduction of the victim’s right to compensation.

Indeed, it is now established that even the victim’s faute simple (mere negligence) can lead to a reduction of his right to compensation.

In a decision issued on February 25, 2022, the Conseil d’Etat (French Administrative Supreme Court) validated the derogation allowing the use of sugar beet seeds treated with neonicotinoids.

It dismissed the application filed by four associations (Agir pour l’environnement, the Confédération paysanne, the Fédération nature et progrès and the Fédération française des apiculteurs professionnels) for an interim judgment to suspend a Ministerial Order dated January 31, 2022 that provided for this derogation.

The OECD Working Group on the Implementation of the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions adopted the France Phase 4 report on December 9, 2021.

This is an opportunity to recall the origin of this Convention before briefly presenting the good and bad marks distributed by the monitoring team in charge of assessing France’s progress in the fight against foreign bribery and underlining its key role in the defense of the values of the civilized world.