The protection of copyright is not only limited to so-called artistic professions. On the contrary, it is commonly accepted by doctrine and jurisprudence that the concept of a work must be interpreted widely.

Therefore, other works that are intellectual productions, works that are functional, utilitarian, informational or scientific are also likely to be protected by copyright.

However, in order to be to be protected the work must be original and have been formatted.

Originality

A work is original if it is the author’s own intellectual creation, namely when it reflects the personality of the latter.

Copyright does not require absolute originality, only relative originality depending on the nature of the work. A work may be original even when it expresses ideas that are not. Originality must arise from the format and not the idea.

In particular, the originality of the work is the result of the author’s free and creative choices. A work will be original, therefore, when its creator has been able to deploy the minimum amount of whimsy inherent to any literary or artistic creation not bound by technical constraints.

Finally, it is important to recall that the novelty and artistic value of the work do not constitute criteria for evaluating the originality of a work.

In practice, jurisprudence applies a threshold of originality that is very low and readily admits copyright protection for all sorts of creations, whether purely artistic, functional or utilitarian.

Format

Copyright protects the format which allows the work to be communicated to the public. Format does not necessarily have to be on a material or intangible or sustainable support. Oral works can also be protected by copyright. Nevertheless, the format must be perceptible to the mind.

Copyright protection does not extend to an idea, however original it may be. The latter belongs to the collective base of human thought.