French Supreme Court clarifies copyright protection for filmed interviews

In a ruling dated 15 October 2025 (No. 24-12.076), the French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation) confirmed that a filmed interview can be protected by copyright provided that, first, it takes an original form, and that, second, the person interviewed may be recognised as a co-author, provided that it can be demonstrated that they contributed to its originality.

In this case, a student filmed several interviews with a filmmaker, a member of a feminist video collective. Excerpts of these interviews were later used in a film about the filmmaker and the collective, and the filmmaker sued the production company for copyright infringement.

The Paris Court of Appeal rejected the claim. It found that the filmmaker had not contributed to the conception of the interviews, had given no instructions and had simply answered the questions in the order set by the student, without influencing their drafting, choice or sequencing.

By contrast, it ruled that the student had alone initiated and structured the interviews, chosen the themes and precise questions based on her knowledge of the filmmaker’s work and given the interviews their overall form and tone. The student was therefore recognised as the author of the interviews. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and confirmed this decision.

Why it matters: Producers and documentary filmmakers must identify who actually contributed to the originality of a filmed interview. When the interviewee has actively shaped the content or structure, their consent (in addition to that of the interviewer and other rightsholders involved) may be required for future uses in films, series or other audiovisual works.