French Version of the the DMCA Takedown Notices

The French “Internet and Creation” bill proposes to add an article L. 336-3 to the French IP Code. This article would oblige the client of an ISP “to ensure that [his] access is not being used for purposes of reproduction, representation, or making available to the public works or objects protected by copyright or a neighboring right without the permission of the holders of these rights”.

This system is similar to the DMCA takedown notices, and the purpose of the bill is, of course, to try to discourage illegal music and films downloading. Yet, the scope of the article is very broad. Imagine accessing a blog that would illegally reproduce pictures of the latest family trip to Grandma, stored on the family computer hard drive, but used by little Billy without Big Sis permission.

The bill also creates a new independent administrative authority, the High Authority for the dissemination of works and protection of rights on the Internet (Haute autorité pour la diffusion des œuvres et la protection des droits sur internet), that would be in charge of making sure that the dispositions of the article L.336-3 are respected.

What gives? According to the riposte graduée the bill proposes to put in place, the ISP client would risk, after several warning of the High Authority, to have his Internet access shut down, three months to a year, while still having to pay the ISP invoice (Art. L. 331-28), a more enviable fate than the one he faces under the current of article 335-2, §§1 and 2 of the Intellectual Property code: “Any edition of writings, musical compositions, drawings, paintings or other printed or engraved production made in whole or in part regardless of the laws and regulations governing the ownership of authors shall constitute an infringement. Any infringement shall constitute an offence.

Infringement in France of works published in France or abroad shall be liable to a three-year imprisonment and a fine of € 300.000.”

The High Authority would also be in charge of creating a database of all the persons that have been found to infringe copyrights, and thus had their Internet access cut off.

The bill, already voted by the Senate, will be discussed at the Assemblée Nationale early next month.