The German “freedom of panorama” is insinuating itself in France

The Law “Creation, Architecture and cultural assets” of July 7th, 2016 has enshrined the “freedom of panorama” inspired from the German legislation (albeit in a watered-down form).

From now on, natural persons are allowed to reproduce and represent architectural works and sculptures permanently located on public places, provided that they do not use them for commercial purpose (new paragraph 11 of article L.122-5 of the French Intellectual Property Code). In practice, anyone may now post pictures of works of art located on public places on social networks, without encountering difficulties with copyrights.

Despite the limited scope of this exception, its introduction into French law constitutes a first step towards a broader “freedom of panorama” exception, on which the European commission is currently working.