TV host denied authorship and image rights claims over TV show reused on YouTube
Published on 23 March 2026
The Paris Judicial Court, in a judgment of 24 October 2025 (Ruling No. 23/11069), rejected all claims brought by the host of a TV programme that her moral rights and image rights were infringed when clips from her show were reused – including interviews and a trailer – on YouTube by the TV channel.
The court held that she was not an author of the clips and trailer: although she chose topics, guests and drafted questions, she did not show that these choices bore the required mark of their author’s personality.
It noted that authorship might have been recognised if she had demonstrated concrete creative input by giving specific instructions for staging and production (staging, framing, editing, set equipment and layout, technical crew, lighting, and on-air graphics) or by documenting her actual interventions (angle of discussion, introductions, scripts and list of questions).
Regarding her image rights, the court found that, despite the absence of a written agreement, the TV host had tacitly consented to the capture and exploitation of her image, including on YouTube, given that she could not have been unaware of the broadcaster’s practice of rebroadcasting its TV programs.
Why it matters: For presenters and hosts, editorial input (choice of topics/guests, questions) is not enough on its own to secure authorship. In any case, broadcasters should still formalise image and exploitation of rights in writing.
