Emergency Legal Action Initiated by French Authors’ Society Against TikTok
The SACD (Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers) in France has launched a legal injunction at the Paris Judicial Court targeting TikTok for the use of its members’ copyrighted content without permission.
This Paris-based entity, which advocates for the rights and royalties of over 58,000 film, television, and theater creators, announced that their decision came after unsuccessful negotiations that persisted over four years with the globally popular video-sharing platform owned by a Chinese company.
Continued Unauthorized Use of Copyrighted Works
The organization expressed its frustrations, stating, “TikTok has consistently utilized copyright works from the SACD’s catalog without proper authorization, has not provided satisfactory compensation to the creators, and has ignored our requests to take down these works.” Clips from well-known French productions like ‘Brice de Nice’, ‘Asterix and Obelix’, and ‘Kaamelott’, along with other titles, are frequently found across TikTok. These works are part of the millions registered with the SACD.
Since its establishment in 1829, the SACD has been committed to ensuring that its members are compensated fairly in the era of digital media. In past efforts to protect its members’ rights, the SACD was the pioneer in Europe to secure a residuals agreement with Netflix in 2014. It has also engaged in discussions about local investment requirements with major streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon, and AppleTV+.
The statement from SACD also highlighted TikTok’s opaque approach concerning its financial operations. They clarified that as a platform that shares online content, TikTok is bound by the French Intellectual Property Code (CPI), and in failing to secure a formal agreement with SACD for the use of registered works, it is in violation of copyright laws.
The authors’ society is now seeking both compensation for the damages incurred by its members due to the unauthorized use of their works and a full disclosure of TikTok’s financial earnings to accurately calculate due copyright royalties.
A court hearing regarding this matter has been scheduled for March 2026.
Response from TikTok Awaited
Journalistic inquiries have been made to TikTok regarding their stance on the legal challenge and whether they will remove the disputed content from their platform. Responses are still pending at this time.
Daniel Hayes is a business journalist with a focus on market trends, startups, and corporate strategies.
His sharp analysis and investigative reports make complex financial topics accessible to all readers.
