⚠️Since the start of the Olympic Games, photos of the emblematic monument glittering at night have been increasingly shared. However, in certain cases, copyright law prohibits the taking of photographs of the night-time illumination of the Tower, adorned with the Olympic rings.
📋The general principle is that works in the public domain can be photographed without authorisation. According to article L123-1 of the French Intellectual Property Code, a work is classified as such 70 years after the death of its architect. This is the case with the Eiffel Tower during the day. At night, its lighting, added in 1985, constitutes a work in its own right that is not yet in the public domain.
💡However, since 2016, article L122-5 of the French Intellectual Property Code, as amended by the law "For a Digital Republic" (article 39), has established an exception to this principle. It incorporates Article 5(3)(h) of European Directive 2001/59 on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and establishes the panorama exception in France: reproductions of architectural works and sculptures are authorised if they are intended for non-commercial use.
👉This means that individuals are free to photograph the Eiffel Tower after sunset or the pyramid designed by architect Pei (who died in 2019) at any time of the day or night.
👉On the other hand, professionals, professional influencers and photographers still need prior authorisation, as long as the works are not in the public domain. To use an image of the Tower at night, they must obtain the consent of the Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE) and pay usage fees, the amount of which depends on the intended use.
In the future, if the Mayor of Paris is successful in her bid to perpetuate the Olympic Rings on the Eiffel Tower, commercial uses of reproductions containing the Olympic symbol could also be subject to authorisation by the IOC (International Olympic Committee). As the Olympic symbol is the property of the Olympic Games, all rights of use are the exclusive property of the IOC in accordance with Article 7 of the Charter.
🔎To find out more, see our comparative analysis of French and German reproduction rights for buildings and sculptures: https://www.upp.photo/fr/news/un-avocat-vous-explique-photographier-les-batiments-et-autres-sculptures-droit-compare-france-allemagne-2626#.Xd_i4T8PNIA.linkedin .
Crédits: Photo de Dobin Fernandes : https://www.pexels.com/photo/eiffel-tower-with-olympic-rings-27776875/
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