Historical perspective on criminal enforcement
Résumé : In France, intellectual property in the modern sense of the term is the result of legislation enacted between 1791 and 1857. The contribution of the 20th century is to have synthesised the laws. But the invention of the subject happened during the first half of the 19th century. It is at this time that treatises uniquely concerning intellectual property appeared. The system of privileges of the Ancien Régime does not constitute an intellectual property law in the strict sense of the term, even if there are several common points. It is possible to draw together privilege and property rights, considering that both give their beneficiaries exclusive rights. Nevertheless these concepts are not equivalent. Contrefaçon (ie intellectual property infringement) is doubtless the only common factor between the two periods. It was punished before and after the French Révolution. As we shall see, its penal sanctions show remarkable continuity from the invention of printing until the end of the 19th century.
Type de publication : contribution - Référence : C. Geiger (ed.), Criminal Enforcement of Intellectual Property, Edward Elgar, 2012, p. 101
