Intellectual Property and Film Rights
Draft to be validated by legal counsel before final publication.
Version: draft of 1 October 2026. Effective date: [À COMPLÉTER / TO BE COMPLETED: final publication date].
1. CREATORS RETAIN THEIR RIGHTS
Uploading a film, a project or any other Content to Festime does not entail any assignment of copyright or neighbouring rights. The Creator retains ownership of their works. No provision herein transfers ownership of a film to Festime or to a Festival. [À COMPLÉTER / TO BE COMPLETED: decision on the so-called “festival ownership after 4 years” clause mentioned in the V1 specifications; it is not included in this draft and may only be included after legal validation and the express contractual agreement of the rights holder.]
2. CREATOR’S WARRANTIES
Before publishing a page or submitting, the Creator confirms that they hold the rights necessary to present the film and have it viewed (“I hold the rights needed” checkbox). In particular, the Creator warrants that they hold the rights to the music, archive footage, excerpts, visible trademarks and the image rights of the persons filmed, and shall indemnify Festime and the Festivals against any third-party claim in this respect.
3. LICENCE GRANTED TO FESTIME
In order to provide the service, the Creator grants Festime a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide licence, limited to the period during which the Content is present on the Platform, to host, technically copy, encode, protect (watermark, access tokens) and transmit the files to authorized persons, and to display the elements that the Creator makes public (poster, title, synopsis, trailer, photos). Festime may present these public elements to promote the Platform, without modifying the work; the Creator may object to this at any time with effect for the future. [À COMPLÉTER / TO BE COMPLETED: validation of the scope of the promotional licence.]
4. RIGHTS OF FESTIVALS AND JURORS
Transmitting a Submission authorizes the Festival and its Jurors to view the film solely for review purposes, via the Platform’s protected player, without downloading, recording or distribution. Any public screening, distribution, or use of excerpts or images for promotional purposes by a Festival, in particular in the event of selection, is governed by the accepted competition rules and, failing that, requires the Creator’s written consent.
5. FESTIME+ AND DISTRIBUTION
Distribution of a film on Festime+ is subject to a separate distribution agreement, accepted by the rights holder, which specifies the territories, the term, the share of revenue due to the Creator and the termination conditions. The Creator represents that they hold the online distribution rights for each selected territory until the date indicated.
6. REPORTING AN INFRINGEMENT OF YOUR RIGHTS
Any person who considers that a film or a festival page infringes their rights may send a notice via the “Copyright Report” form (link in the footer). The notice must include: the type of content (film or festival) and its identifier; your name and contact e-mail address; a description of the protected work; a secure (https) link to supporting evidence; a statement of your rights and of the action requested; a statement of good faith. An incomplete notice may not be processed. [À COMPLÉTER / TO BE COMPLETED: alternative postal address for notices.]
7. HANDLING OF THE NOTICE
Upon receipt, a case number is assigned and the holder of the content is informed. The moderation team reviews the notice and may: place it under review, remove the content (the film or page is then archived and is no longer accessible), or reject the notice by a reasoned decision. The author of the notice and the holder of the content are informed at each stage. Festime may remove manifestly infringing content without awaiting the outcome of the case.
8. COUNTER-NOTICE
The holder of removed content may challenge the removal from the case page by providing their legal identity, e-mail address, postal address and the reasons why the removal results from a mistake or misidentification, and by confirming two statements: the accuracy of their assertions under penalty of sanctions, and acceptance of the jurisdiction of the appropriate court. The author of the notice is informed accordingly.
A period of ten working days (excluding weekends) is observed before any re-examination. At the end of this period, the moderation team may restore the content, provided that no other removal is pending for that content, or reject the counter-notice by a reasoned decision. During this period, the author of the notice may inform Festime that legal proceedings have been initiated. [À COMPLÉTER / TO BE COMPLETED: effect of notified legal proceedings on restoration.]
9. ABUSIVE NOTICES AND REPEAT INFRINGEMENT
A knowingly inaccurate notice or counter-notice may give rise to the liability of its author. Festime may suspend or close the Account of a User subject to repeated justified removals. [À COMPLÉTER / TO BE COMPLETED: repeat-infringement threshold adopted.]
10. FESTIME CONTENT
The elements of the Platform (trademark, logo, interface, texts, software) are protected. The laurels generated for selected or award-winning films may be used by the Creator to promote the film concerned, in accordance with the Festival’s instructions.