Article 38
Sale of Originals or Copies of Works
and Assignment and Licensing
of Copyright in Such Works
(1) An author who transfers an original or a copy of his work by sale shall be deemed,
unless stipulated to the contrary in the contract, to have assigned none of his economic rights
nor to have granted a license for carrying out the acts concerned by the economic rights.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the legitimate acquirer of an original or of a copy of
a work, unless otherwise stipulated in the contract, shall enjoy the right of presentation of
such original or copy directly to the public.
(3) The right under paragraph (2) shall not extend to persons who have obtained
possession of originals or copies of a work by means of rental or any other means, without
having acquired ownership of them.
Section II
Special Contracts
Article 39
Publishing Contracts
(1) A publishing contract is one under which the author of a work or his successors in
title assign to a publisher, under specified conditions, the right to make or have made
sufficient copies of the work, whereby the publisher is required to effect publication and
dissemination thereof.
(2) A publishing contract shall be in writing, on pain of invalidity. The form and mode
of expression, the conditions for carrying out the publication and, where appropriate, the
termination clauses shall be laid down in the contract.
(3) A publishing contract shall be subject to the provisions of the national code
governing civil and commercial obligations.
Article 40
Contracts at the Author’s Expense
(1) A contract known as a contract “at the author’s expense” shall not constitute a
publishing contract within the meaning of Article 39 above.
(2) Under such contract, the author or his successors in title pay to the publisher an
agreed remuneration against which the latter makes a number of copies of the work in the
form and according to the modes of expression specified in the contract and effects their
publication and dissemination.
(3) Such contract shall constitute a contract for services governed by usage and the
provisions of the national code governing civil and commercial obligations.
Article 41
Contracts at Joint Expense
(1) A contract known as a contract “at joint expense” shall not constitute a publishing
contract within the meaning of Article 39 above.