Trademark law looks broadly similar across India and France. Copyright does not. France was built around protecting the author; India around enabling the exploitation of works. If you are creating something, the choice of law matters more than you would expect.
Two different starting points
Both systems descend from different traditions, and the divergence is visible in almost every operative rule. French copyright — droit d’auteur — treats the author as the centre of the system. Indian copyright, drawing on the common-law approach, is more comfortable treating a work as an asset to be owned and traded, often by whoever paid for it.
Moral rights
This is the sharpest difference.
France grants the author a substantial set of moral rights from the outset — the right of paternity (attribution), disclosure (deciding when and whether the work is published), integrity (objecting to distortion), and withdrawal (retracting a work already released). Critically, these rights are treated as inalienable: an author cannot permanently surrender them, whatever a contract says.
India addresses moral rights far more narrowly, in Section 57 of the Copyright Act, 1957 — essentially paternity and integrity. There is no equivalent right of disclosure or withdrawal.
Assignment of rights
India permits flexible assignment of rights. Practice is relatively accommodating about how thoroughly the assignment is specified.
France is strict. An assignment contract must specify the duration and the territorial scope of the rights transferred — and an omission can render the assignment void. The formality is protective: it exists to stop an author from unknowingly signing away everything, forever, everywhere.
First ownership
India typically vests ownership in the party who commissioned and funded the creation, in the circumstances the Act specifies. France designates the creator as first owner as a matter of principle.
For a company building a catalogue of works, the Indian position is convenient. For an individual creator, the French position is the safer one.
Term of protection
- France: the author’s lifetime plus seventy years.
- India: the author’s lifetime plus sixty years.
So which would you choose?
It depends entirely on which side of the transaction you are on. An author would prefer French protection — inalienable moral rights, first ownership by default, strict assignment formalities that prevent an accidental giveaway, and a longer term. An investor funding the creation of works would prefer the Indian framework — ownership that follows the money, and assignments that are simpler to execute and harder to unwind.
The practical lesson for anyone commissioning or creating across borders: do not assume your home-law instincts travel. An assignment drafted for India can fail outright under French formalities, and a buy-out that works in India will not extinguish a French author’s moral rights.
The takeaways
- French moral rights are inalienable — India’s Section 57 covers only paternity and integrity.
- French assignments must specify duration and territory — or risk being void.
- First ownership differs — the funder in India, the creator in France.
- Term differs — life plus 70 in France, life plus 60 in India.
Frequently asked questions
Are moral rights waivable in India? Indian law provides paternity and integrity rights under Section 57; French law treats its broader set of moral rights as inalienable, so an author there cannot permanently surrender them.
How long does copyright last in India and France? The author’s lifetime plus sixty years in India, and the author’s lifetime plus seventy years in France.
Who owns a commissioned work? In India ownership commonly vests in the party who commissioned and funded the work; French law designates the creator as first owner.
Can an Indian-style assignment be used in France? Not safely — French assignment contracts must specify the duration and territorial scope of the rights transferred, and omissions can render the assignment void.
Useful official resources
- The Copyright Act, 1957
- Copyright Office, India
- WIPO — Berne Convention