copyright france
France: is it the same copyright principle?
<p>After reading this: <a href="https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2016/12/09/developers-side-projects/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2016/12/09/developers-side-projects/</a></p>

<p>I'm stuck with this:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Well… maybe. In the United States, if you hired Sarah as a contractor,
  she still owns the copyright on that work. That is kind of weird,
  because you might say, “Well, I paid her for it.” It sounds weird, but
  it is the default way copyright works. In fact, if you hire a
  photographer to take pictures for your wedding, you own the copies of
  the pictures that you get, but the photographer still owns the
  copyright and has the legal monopoly on making more copies of those
  pictures. Surprise! Same applies to code.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Is it the same copyright principle in France? If I make a big JavaScript "generic" implementation of something that I would like to re-use somewhere else, is it legal for me to do so?</p>

<p><em>Links are in French.</em></p>

<p>As the author of a work, you would generally hold copyright unless there's a contract otherwise. <a href="https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCode.do;jsessionid=B56FC8B794D27FAD7805CA63874BFB15.tplgfr38s_2?idSectionTA=LEGISCTA000006161635&amp;cidTexte=LEGITEXT000006069414&amp;dateTexte=20180127" rel="nofollow noreferrer">L113</a> of the <em>Code de la propriété intellectuelle</em> determines who is the rights holder of a given work and I don't see anything there that changes things for you as a contractor. Even if you assigned some rights to your employer through a contract, France has <a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Droit_moral" rel="nofollow noreferrer">moral rights</a> which can never be ceded.</p>

<p>In fact, even if you were a salaried employee, you still hold the rights by default, unlike the US. There are a few exceptions to that though: <a href="https://www.app.asso.fr/questions-frequentes/le-droit-d-auteur-en-general/qui-est-titulaire-des-droits-lorsque-l-oeuvre-est-creee-par-un-ou.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">software, inseparable joint works</a>, and works where the <a href="http://www.collomp-avocat.com/droit-dauteur-les-droits-des-salaries-sur-les-creations-au-sein-de-lentreprise/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">creative process was purely directed by your superiors</a>. </p>
