French Intellectual Property Code
In forceI. - The reports provided for in Article L. 326-1 are published on the website of the collective management organisations concerned and are maintained on this site, available to the public, for at least five years.
II. - The annual transparency report includes the following information:
1° Financial statements comprising a balance sheet, an income statement, and an appendix, in accordance with standards set by the Accounting Standards Authority;
2° A report on the activities of the financial year;
3° The number of refusals to grant an operating licence in accordance with the provisions of the third paragraph of Article L. 324-7 and the main categories of reasons for such refusals;
4° A description of the legal structure and governance of the collective management organisation;
5° The list of legal entities that the organisation controls within the meaning of Article L. 233-16 of the French Commercial Code, as well as the amount of capital, the proportion of capital held, the results of the last financial year ended, and the net and gross book value of the securities held;
6° The total amount of remuneration paid during the previous year, on the one hand, to the persons mentioned in the first paragraph of Article L. 323-13 and, on the other hand, to the members of the supervisory body, as well as any other benefits granted to them;
7° The amount of revenue from the exploitation of rights, broken down by category of rights managed and by type of use, and the amount of revenue resulting from the investment of this revenue as well as information on the use of this revenue;
8° Financial information on the cost of rights management and other services provided to rightholders by the organisation, with a full description of the following:
a) The amount of all operating and financial costs, broken down by category of rights managed, and where the costs are indirect and cannot be attributed to one or more categories of rights, an explanation of the method used to allocate these indirect costs;
b) The amount of operating costs and financial costs corresponding solely to the management of the rights, broken down by category of rights managed, distinguishing the amount of management costs deducted or offset against income from the exploitation of the rights or income resulting from the investment of such income, and where the costs are indirect and cannot be attributed to one or more categories of rights, an explanation of the method followed for the allocation of such indirect costs...;
c) The amount of operating and financial costs relating to services, other than rights management, including social, cultural and educational services;
d) The nature of the resources used to cover costs;
e) The amount of deductions made from income from the exploitation of rights, broken down by category of rights managed and by type of use, and the purpose of such deductions;
f) The percentage represented by the cost of rights management and other services provided to rightsholders by the organisation in relation to revenues from the exploitation of rights for the financial year concerned, by category of rights managed, and where the costs are indirect and cannot be attributed to one or more categories of rights, an explanation of the method followed for the attribution of these indirect costs;
9° Financial information on the sums due to rightsholders, accompanied by a full description of the following:
a) The total amount of sums distributed to right holders, with a breakdown by category of rights managed and by type of use;
b) The total amount of sums paid to right holders, with a breakdown by category of rights managed and by type of use;
c) The frequency of payments, with a breakdown by category of rights managed and by type of use;
d) The total amount of sums invoiced;
e) The total amount of sums collected but not yet distributed to right holders, with a breakdown by category of rights managed and by type of use, indicating the financial year in which these sums were collected;
f) The total amount of sums distributed but not yet paid to rightsholders, with a breakdown by category of rights managed and by type of use, indicating the financial year during which these sums were received;
g) The reasons for the organisation's failure to comply with the time limits applicable to it in paying the sums due to rightsholders in accordance with Article L. 324-12;
h) The total amount of sums that cannot be distributed, with an explanation of how they have been used;
10° Information on relations with other collective management bodies with a description of the following:
a) The amount of sums received from other organisations and sums paid to other organisations, with a breakdown by category of rights and by type of use as well as by organisation;
b) The amount of management fees and other deductions made from income from the exploitation of rights due to other organisations, with a breakdown by category of rights and by type of use as well as by organisation ;
c) The amount of management fees and other deductions made from sums paid by other bodies, with a breakdown by category of rights and by body;
d) The amount of sums distributed directly to holders of rights from other bodies, with a breakdown by category of rights and by body.
III. - The annual transparency report shall also include a report accounting for the use of the sums deducted for the provision of social, cultural or educational services and containing the following information:
1° The amount of sums deducted for the purposes of social, cultural and educational services during the financial year, with a breakdown by type of purpose, and for each type of purpose with a breakdown by category of rights managed and by type of use ;
2° An explanation of the use of these sums, with a breakdown by type of purpose, including the amount of costs arising from the management of sums deducted with a view to financing social, cultural and educational services and separate sums used for the purposes of social, cultural and educational services.
IV. - The organisation's auditor ensures that the information contained in the annual transparency report, including in particular the financial statements and financial information provided for in 1°, 7° to 10° of II and III, is accurate and consistent with the organisation's accounting documents. The special report it prepares for this purpose and any reservations it may have must be reproduced in full in the annual transparency report.
