On December 6th, Mr. Chomiac de Sas participated in a seminar on digital law for students at Gaming Campus (Lyon), in the Gtech program dedicated to video game developers.

I had the opportunity to share my expertise in new technology law, particularly video game law. The seminar aimed to raise students’ awareness of the importance of intellectual property and the legal issues surrounding practices related to video games, a constantly evolving and highly complex field given the variety of associated legal topics: intellectual property of the game and its assets, game production, monetization strategies, control of personal data collected and processed by the studio, regulatory aspects related to esports competitions, etc.

As a creative sector at the crossroads of technology, art, and entertainment, the video game industry presents unique challenges for creators, developers, and also for lawyers specializing in this field.

Creating video game studios: a delicate exercise

For more information on preparing, creating, and structuring a video game, see our dedicated guide.

Many groups, motivated by video game development, have faced the challenges associated with creating a video game studio and the importance of its legal, tax, and organizational preparation.

The strategic implications of choosing the type of structure (SAS, SARL, EI), drafting the articles of association and their mandatory clauses, as well as preparing a shareholders’ agreement that operationally organizes the launch of the business, are elements often neglected or even rushed by video game creators.

Protecting intellectual property is another key issue. It is essential to register the copyright to secure the game, its storyline, visuals, source code, and logo with the INPI (French National Institute of Industrial Property). Furthermore, the licenses of third-party software and assets must be carefully reviewed to ensure their use complies with their terms. To avoid any conflict over ownership of the created elements, copyright assignment contracts must be signed by all collaborators.

In terms of digital regulations, the studio must also comply with the GDPR if it collects personal data. This involves publishing a privacy policy and obtaining explicit user consent. The Terms of Service must specify the rights and responsibilities of players, while the legal notices must be accessible on the platforms associated with the studio.

From a tax perspective, the studio will have to charge VAT if its sales exceed the legal thresholds. For international sales, VAT rates must be adjusted according to local regulations. Regarding social security contributions, the income generated by the founders and employees will be subject to mandatory contributions, which vary depending on the company’s legal status.

Funding is a major challenge. To cover development and marketing costs, the studio can seek public subsidies (for example, from the CNC or Creative Europe), private investment (business angels, venture capital, partner companies like Tencent or Ubisoft), or crowdfunding through platforms like Kickstarter. A bank loan can also be considered to supplement these resources.

The game’s business model must be carefully designed to maximize revenue. Competitive pricing, targeted marketing campaigns, and strong community involvement (through early access or rewards for demo players) are essential strategies. Distribution via Steam or other platforms ensures broad accessibility for players.

Emulators, Roms Hacks, Fan Game & Plagiarism

The creation of video games, in the form of ROM hacks or fan games, raises complex questions regarding intellectual property, which the students attempted to answer or at least understand the issues at stake.

These two types of creations, although stemming from fans’ passion for existing games, are nevertheless treated legally differently.

As a reminder, ROM hacks are modifications of existing video games. They generally involve altering a game’s source code to modify certain aspects or assets, such as graphics, levels, or dialogue. In practice, these modifications are often carried out without the authorization of the copyright holders of the original game.

Case law has often confirmed that unauthorized modifications of video games constitute a violation of copyright (“the copier is materially and legally responsible for the company, and it “cannot be seriously argued that he limited himself to making available to his customers the technical and human means intended to allow them to make the backup or private use copy permitted by law”).

On this point, ROM hacks have faced more frequent legal action. For example, companies like Nintendo have regularly asserted their rights against ROM hacks to prevent their distribution, even non-commercial.

Fan games are games created by fans that draw inspiration from the universe, characters, or mechanics of existing games. Unlike ROM hacks, fan games are often developed from scratch, although they may use recognizable elements from copyrighted games.

Fan games can also be considered derivative works. However, their legal status can be more nuanced, as they do not directly modify the source code of an existing game. Nevertheless, the use of copyrighted elements without authorization can still constitute copyright infringement (“a specific instance of copyright infringement in video games is the reproduction, within the game, of a copyrighted work”).

ROM hacks, as direct modifications of existing games, are more likely to be considered copyright infringement. Fan games, while they can also infringe on copyright, have greater leeway in terms of originality, which can influence their legal status. In all cases, it is essential for creators of these works to understand the legal implications and seek the necessary permissions to avoid potential litigation.

Video game assets and marketplace

An asset in a video game is an integrated element that contributes to the game’s design, content, or gameplay. These elements can be visual, audio, interactive, or functional, and constitute the basic building blocks of a video game title.

These assets can be created in-house within the studio, with their intellectual property generally belonging to the company through employment or service contracts that include clauses for the transfer of exploitation rights.

They can also be available from dedicated platforms through usage licenses, subject to varying degrees of restrictions depending on the license (CC-BY, CC0, etc.) and the terms of the marketplaces offering these assets (e.g., Unity: Extension Asset, Single Entity, Multiple Entity).

Legally, some assets are subject to particularly stringent regulations. This is the case for music or sounds, which may be managed by specific licenses and dedicated organizations—SACD in France for composers, SACEM for performing artists.

Using licensed assets in video game production requires significant precautions from the studio and its developers, who must absolutely verify the terms of use and, if necessary, contact the copyright holder to discuss the terms of commercial use.

Failure to do so exposes them to civil and criminal penalties, particularly for copyright infringement or illegal redistribution, which can result in three to five years of imprisonment and fines of up to €500,000, along with precautionary measures.

It is recommended in all circumstances to ensure that assignment agreements are signed for each asset, and where applicable, that the transfer and attribution of ownership are recorded, as well as documentation of its proper use.

From Software, Arkane, Bandai Namco.

Several groups presented in-depth studies of various video game studios, analyzing the evolution of their structure, the range of titles they have published, and more generally, their development strategy.

The publisher of the successful Dark Souls series, the large merger of studios holding the Tekken/Dragon Ball licenses, and a smaller, discreet, yet high-performing studio from Lyon provided students with valuable insights into the essential criteria and elements for their future projects.

Video games & esports: Lawyer specializing in digital law

Beyond the theoretical legal aspects, our intervention focused on supporting creators and future founders of video game studios with the practical aspects of their activities. This included negotiating contracts between partners, preparing End User License Agreements (EULAs), establishing privacy policies and ensuring GDPR compliance, and addressing related issues inherent to any entrepreneurial venture.

This seminar enabled students to gain a better understanding of the specific legal challenges of video games and new technologies. As a lawyer specializing in digital law and particularly involved in the video game and esports sector, I emphasized the importance of mastering these issues to best support stakeholders in this industry and anticipate future legal challenges.

Video game law, constantly evolving, is a fascinating field where technology and creativity converge, offering unique opportunities for legal professionals.

On November 21, 2024, Me Pierre-Xavier Chomiac de Sas spoke on behalf of the Paris Bar Association to discuss the conditions of use of artificial intelligence tools in the communication and advertising of law firms.

IA & communication des avocats

At the Paris Bar Association headquarters, alongside Frédéric Guénin and Eric le Quellenec, a training session for lawyers and communication professionals highlighted the professional challenges facing the legal profession in the face of AI and the potential of these new digital tools for communication and marketing.

The next meeting will take place on December 16 and will focus on the sensitive issue of AI and the protection of personal data.

Commission Droit & Ethique de l’IA

This presentation is part of the work of the AI ​​Law & Ethics Committee.

This committee’s objectives include:

• Raising awareness among all members of the Bar about the legal, ethical, and deontological issues related to these advanced technologies;
• Sharing best practices for using artificial intelligence in the professional activities of lawyers;
• Creating a network of practitioners within the Bar interested in AI, to enrich our collective thinking on the opportunities and challenges these technologies present.

Working groups are currently being established, focusing on three themes:

• The ethical and professional issues surrounding AI;
• Training and the use of data, particularly personal data;

The challenges of intellectual property in training and the production of AI-generated content.

Since November 13th, “Paris 2024” has disappeared from both TikTok and Instagram. On TikTok, the account has changed its name, while on Instagram, followers appear to have been transferred to another account.

In this context, Pierre-Xavier Chomiac de Sas spoke with Le Figaro regarding the sudden disappearance/deletion of the “Paris 2024” Instagram and TikTok accounts.

This situation raises interesting legal issues concerning the availability of social media accounts, accessibility for followers, and the control available to both account holders and the social media platforms themselves.

Read the article on Le Figaro’s website: Why the Paris 2024 Instagram and TikTok accounts suddenly disappeared

Social media for the 2024 Olympics: Who owns the Instagram & TikTok accounts?

Social media accounts, such as Instagram and TikTok, are generally created and managed by entities or individuals acting on behalf of an organization, in this case, the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee (OCOG).

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is responsible for creating and managing accounts related to information and promotion of the Olympic events across all social media platforms.

These accounts are therefore governed by the contractual agreements between the platform providers – Meta, WhatsApp, Snapchat, TikTok, LinkedIn, etc. It is important to note that the creation and use of these accounts are not a matter of ownership but simply a license to use the digital spaces made available to them.

While account deletion is always possible at the initiative of its creator, it can also be directly considered by the platform in the event of a violation of legal or contractual provisions, particularly regarding intellectual property, data protection, or illegal or violent content.

Instagram & TikTok: A genuine “transfer” of Paris 2024 Olympic accounts

Following the removal of these accounts, including the Instagram account with over three million followers, users witnessed an immediate and significant increase in the International Olympic Committee’s “regular” accounts.

Several hundred thousand followers were thus gradually “added,” confirming the involvement and therefore the agreement of Meta’s technical staff in this de facto transfer.

Such practices are generally prohibited by the platforms’ Terms of Service, which prevent the consideration of channel or account followers as transferable or assignable assets.

Paris Olympics: Deletion of accounts and their content

Many internet users and event participants have denounced the destruction of a historical record that preserves the memory of the event. While the images and videos posted from the account are presumably preserved by their author, the texts and comments posted are permanently lost.

It is likely that the Meta group retains digital records of all these posts, particularly to comply with its legal, civil, and criminal obligations as a content host.

However, this content will likely remain inaccessible to internet users except through potentially specialized archive websites.

Deleted “Paris JO” accounts: an economic and marketing strategy?

The management of digital communications for Paris 2024 is both strategic and contractual, particularly with regard to partnerships with companies and visibility obligations towards sponsors and other stakeholders.

The transfer of subscribers to the official IOC accounts can be justified in light of the imperatives and objectives of communicating and promoting the Olympic disciplines.

The management of digital communications for Paris 2024 is indeed both strategic and contractual, particularly with regard to partnerships with companies and visibility obligations towards sponsors and other stakeholders.

It should be noted that the accounts for previous editions of the Olympic Games, notably Tokyo, are still active today. However, the limited number of subscribers on these accounts may justify, from an economic and marketing perspective, the IOC’s interest in transferring their subscribers for the time being.

A new seminar was held at the Paris Gaming Campus for aspiring third-year video game developers (Gtech). Under the umbrella term “digital law,” the seminar focused on presenting various aspects of the digital media sector, including online liability, intellectual property, software law, and online consumer access platforms.

The emphasis was placed on the video game industry and its esports counterpart, allowing students to choose and work on particularly interesting topics: CD Projekt RED’s disastrous marketing strategy for the release of Cyberpunk, the rise of gacha systems in video games, the keys to the success of “Valorant,” business models and risks involved in launching a video game studio, the use of assets in video games, and more.

Below, you will find our additional information highlighting the legal issues related to these topics.

Intermediate platforms for accessing video games

Online access to video games is currently regulated through intermediary platforms such as Epic Games and Steam, which traditionally include publishing fees and commissions on generated revenue.

Integrating with these types of platforms requires compliance with the Platform Regulations, administrative verification of the studio’s identity, adherence to general rules, and adherence to specific terms that may apply depending on the game type. This often involves a submission and review process.

Online app stores offer similar models, sometimes with subscription systems for publishing and maintaining applications online.

Anti-steering, practiced by some platforms, is at the heart of a significant legal issue, highlighted in 2024 by a lawsuit initiated by Epic Games against the Apple App Store. On January 16, 2024, the Supreme Court ended part of the litigation requiring Apple to stop anti-steering practices, which consist of prohibiting application developers from redirecting their users to a website to make a purchase or subscribe to a service.

This decision echoes the European Commission’s €1.8 billion fine imposed on Apple for abusing its dominant position in the music streaming market, a market pioneered by Spotify. The Commission ruled that the obligations imposed on developers using the Apple Store were neither necessary nor proportionate to protect Apple’s commercial interests.

Read our previous article on this topic.

Image rights in video games

The video game industry now offers content as rich and sophisticated as audiovisual and cinematic productions. An increasing number of games incorporate images of real people in the form of digital avatars or through techniques such as motion capture to realistically reproduce human movements.

These technologies allow for the creation of characters that can include public figures such as actors, politicians, famous gamers, or even influencers.

This is particularly evident in video games adapted from major cultural franchises, such as Marvel, Batman, or Harry Potter, where creators can use images of celebrities or real people to enrich the game’s content.

When individuals, whether real or fictional, are represented in a video game, several legal issues must be considered, including image rights and copyright.

1. Copyright protects the creative elements of a video game, such as characters, environments, music, and other artistic elements. The creators of the video game therefore hold exclusive rights to these works.
2. Moral rights allow creators to object to any use of their work that could harm their reputation or the integrity of their work. For example, a creator could refuse to allow a character they created to be used in a degrading way or in a manner diverted from its original purpose.

A new issue, amplified by technological advances, concerns the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as deepfakes, which make it possible to create highly realistic images or videos of people, often without their consent. These tools make the manipulation of faces and voices much easier and raise ethical and legal questions about image rights and the protection of privacy.

The use of images of public figures in video games could become problematic if they are manipulated without their permission, especially since AI makes it possible to recreate representations of people in a very realistic and potentially abusive way.

Online content moderation by publishers

Related to the video game itself, publishers now offer numerous communication tools within their titles for players to interact in-game or on online platforms. Moderation of these tools is a new challenge in ensuring a positive gaming experience: text content and voice chats, moderation of images and videos shared via screenshots or custom creations within the game or livestreams, and the control of prohibited, violent, or pornographic messages and symbols.

Transformed into content hosts and subject to the obligations of the LCEN (French Law on Confidence in the Digital Economy), video game platforms must manage a multitude of textual, visual, and voice content while ensuring a safe and respectful environment.

To achieve this, studios combine moderation based on automated tools, including AI, monitoring software, and anti-cheat systems, with human moderation and co-regulation through community reporting tools.

Legally, content moderation is subject to a wide variety of international, EU, and national legal standards, both statutory and contractual, which vary from country to country.

Publishers must therefore ensure compliance with specific provisions regarding the protection of personal data, freedom of expression, and the protection of minors.

Assets in video games

IIncluding 3D or graphic models, shaders, scripts, audio content, and more, their use is legally regulated under three main license categories:

• Exclusive ownership (creation of a personal asset for the client); open license (via Creative Commons – open source systems);

• Commercial licenses (assets purchased via marketplaces);

• Abuses of these assets can have disastrous consequences for the video game’s commercialization after development: lawsuits for copyright infringement, unfair competition, privacy violations for assets using images or voices of individuals, injunctions, etc.

In summary, it appears that preparing a list of licenses and assets is essential for the video game studio, allowing it to retain proof of purchase, control, and document their use. Training teams in the use of such content is also indispensable.ble.

Twitch & nudity

Twitch, a social network characterized by live streaming audiovisual content, owned by Amazon, quickly faced the challenge of moderating its content. Several categories—ASMR, drawing, inflatable pools, and others—soon featured nudity, the authorization of which became subject to complex discretionary power by Twitch.

In December 2023, streamers faced moderation actions, including temporary bans and warnings, for behavior deemed to violate the platform’s rules regarding nudity and indecency.

Read our previous analysis on this topic.

Valorant: The successful launch of an FPS

Valorent, a tactical team-based shooter developed by Riot Games and released in 2020, enjoyed immediate and considerable success.

A more in-depth analysis reveals several factors that together justified the game’s legitimate success:

• Riot Games’ extensive expertise in multiplayer games, honed over a decade of experience, notably with the title “League of Legends”;

• The creation of a game with diverse and evolving content, incorporating mechanics and innovations from competing products such as Counter-Strike, Call of Duty, and Overwatch (2);

• The game’s accessibility, both through its particularly forgiving minimum system requirements and its free-to-play model;

• A complex marketing strategy highlighting not only the gameplay, its characters, and its lore/universe, but also through a massive diversification of related content: trailers of all kinds, merchandise, a Spotify playlist, and, of course, esports competitions.

On November 12, 2024, Ms. Chomiac de Sas had the pleasure of speaking alongside Debora Cohen at a new training session dedicated to lawyers’ use of social media.

Organized by the Entrepreneurial Bar Association, this seminar raised awareness among lawyers registered with the Paris Bar about issues related to the profession’s communication strategies and the legal and ethical framework governing their practices.

We thank all four hundred lawyers who attended this training and remain available to answer any further questions they may have about the topics presented.

Find the details of the training here.

At the last Transfodroit Forum on November 26 and 27, 2024, I had the honor of speaking alongside my colleague Amaury Sonet on a crucial topic: the evolution of the legal profession in the face of artificial intelligence tools.

The integration of AI into legal practice offers significant opportunities, but requires constant vigilance to ensure respect for fundamental ethical principles.

As lawyers, it is our responsibility to combine innovation and ethics in order to preserve client trust and the integrity of our profession.

This presentation follows on from our previous presentation in 2023 on the topic of lawyers and cybersecurity.

The technological promises of AI for lawyers

The inevitable digitization of our society is impacting all professional sectors, including the legal and judicial sectors. The jurisdictions and related regulated professions—bailiffs, notaries, accountants, and law firms—are being profoundly transformed.

The adoption of tools such as legal tech, online databases, electronic signatures, and blockchain is changing our practices. The rise of algorithmic technologies and AI, particularly machine learning models and Large Language Models (LLMs), is also expanding the range of services, enabling the automation of certain legal tasks and simplified access to complex information.

AI & Law: The Legal Framework for Artificial Intelligence

Alongside its technological expansion, national and international legal provisions are proliferating to frame or regulate these developments. A recent example is the European Regulation on Artificial Intelligence (AI Act).

Adopted on June 13, 2024, it aims to promote the development of reliable and human-centered artificial intelligence, while ensuring a high level of protection for health, safety, fundamental rights, democracy, the rule of law, and the environment against the harmful effects of artificial intelligence systems.

Like all users of these solutions, law firms will have to comply with these obligations, which also include the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the AI ​​Liability Directive, thus complementing the AI ​​Act in this respect.

Lawyers’ activities in the face of AI challenges

Subject to specific obligations related to their status as a regulated profession and officers of the court, lawyers are bound by professional secrecy, which imposes particularly rigorous standards of security and confidentiality regarding the handling of requests and information entrusted to them by their clients.

AI raises sensitive questions in this regard:

• Personal data: What precautions should be taken to respect the confidentiality of communications and, more generally, professional secrecy? Under what conditions can privileged information be integrated into AI tool databases for research purposes?
• Intellectual property: Who owns the results generated by AI, and how can they be used?
• Responsibilities: How can the risks associated with the use of predictive tools be managed?
• Predictive justice, for example, while effective for analyzing past decisions, requires increased vigilance to avoid bias.

Law firms and their irreversible transformation

Integrating AI tools into law firm practices requires a complete overhaul of both skills and case management processes. Firms must therefore consider training professionals capable of using these technologies while respecting the core requirements of the profession.

This may involve, in particular:

• The emergence of new profiles of digital lawyers and legal professionals.
• The revaluation of analytical and strategic tasks.
• Adapting to new client expectations, as clients are now accustomed to fast and personalized solutions.
• These changes also call for a rethinking of law firms’ economic and organizational models.

Legal ethics and artificial intelligence

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) tools into professional practice inevitably clashes with the rules specific to the legal profession, as outlined in the National Internal Regulations (RIN) and any supplementary texts in the internal regulations of the various bar associations.

Lawyers’ obligations include, in particular, respect for essential principles: dignity, conscience, independence, probity, humanity, honor, loyalty, equality and non-discrimination, disinterestedness, collegiality, tact, moderation, and courtesy.

Lawyers’ duties towards their clients are detailed in the form of an obligation of competence, dedication, diligence, and prudence.

Other rules governing the profession, concerning professional secrecy, loyalty, and transparency towards clients, are relevant to the use of artificial intelligence tools.

For example, a discussion is being built on the obligation to inform the customer about the possible use or not of AI tools to process their requests.

Lawyer Communication & Advertising: AI-Accelerated Marketing

Article 10 of the National Internal Regulations (RIN) governs the advertising of law firms and, more generally, the communication of lawyers across all digital media: websites, blogs and forums, social networks, radio and television appearances, etc.

Since 2015, this communication has enjoyed a degree of freedom, albeit restricted by general legal provisions stemming from the Consumer Code, the recommendations of the ARPP (French Advertising Standards Authority), and criminal law provisions, particularly those governing press offenses and breaches of professional secrecy.

In this context, generative AI tools, such as those used to create marketing content, must be used judiciously to avoid disseminating misleading information or information that violates the rules of fairness.

Find our presentations and guides on the topic of AI and lawyer marketing.

This evolution of the legal profession in the face of AI is not simply a technological revolution: it is an opportunity to reinvent our practices, while remaining true to our values ​​and our mission of justice.

Find more insights on the future of law and lawyers in a digital world on our website pcs-avocat.com. We are available to answer any questions you may have regarding digital law and the impact of artificial intelligence on your business.

In early October, Me Chomiac de Sas offered a week-long seminar to students at Gaming Campus (Lyon) dedicated to esports law.

Continuing the now-standard presentation of the subject matter, designed to raise awareness and train future professionals in the sector, we addressed the issues related to video games and their specific legal framework, the development of a legal framework for esports, and the specific challenges faced by the various roles and professions involved: publishers, players and clubs, organizers, broadcasters, and support and promotional staff.

Women in esports – A challenge for the future of esports

The esports sector as a whole faces societal challenges related to the roles and positions of women in events and activities falsely perceived as masculine.

However, the issues surrounding women’s place in esports are too often limited to the status of female players and their integration into exclusive/inclusive leagues. This unfortunately overshadows other equally important topics concerning women in the video game industry, within studios, in support or leadership roles within teams, as casters, influencers and experts in broadcasting competitions, event organizers, and so on.

The student groups chose particularly complex and technical topics on which they were able to work to identify the problems and propose solutions to move the sector forward in these areas.

Closed and open leagues – Organization of esports competitions

The feasibility of organizing video game competitions for promotion varies according to criteria that are more or less equitable or discretionary on the part of publishers—money, reputation, skills, partnerships, integrity, etc.—and proves more complex than such a simplistic distinction suggests.

Only a case-by-case study can reveal the persistent criteria that justify classifying a league as open or closed. However, the data shows that there is actually a wide range of competitions that fluctuate between these two main principles, depending on eligibility criteria, seasons, and publishers’ experimentation.

Esports in Korea: an exceptional structure

A leading country in esports culture, South Korea stands out for its unparalleled esports club structure. With three-quarters of its population reporting playing video games, particularly competitive titles, and a legal framework for the entire sector under the control and support of government ministries, Korea offers an impressive incubator for experimenting with esports practices for the rest of the world.

Alongside Charlotte Karila Vaillant of Signe Distinctif, I had the pleasure of speaking at the 18th edition of Campus as part of a series of seminars for lawyers focused on artificial intelligence (AI) tools.

Campus is one of the largest annual training gatherings for lawyers, organized by the Paris Bar Association. Campus 2024 took place from October 9 to 11 at the Jardin d’Acclimatation.

This event offered more than 80 training sessions, both in-person and online, covering all areas of law, allowing lawyers to stay up-to-date on legal and regulatory developments and share their experiences.

Our training session, entitled “Improving Visibility and Developing Your Clientele with AI Marketing,” was part of a series of presentations dedicated to improving the use and implementation of artificial intelligence tools by law firms.

AI, Prompt & Law Firms: How to Optimize Artificial Intelligence

The training highlighted the importance of understanding how artificial intelligence tools work and how to organize interactions with them, particularly through LLMs (Learning to Manage Legal Objects).

Learning how to use “prompts” is essential, just as mastering search tools in legal databases or on the internet is. A prompt consists of instructions or a series of data provided to an AI system, which uses this information to generate responses or create content in text, images, or other media formats.

Bar associations offer a number of professional guides for lawyers, providing important details and advice on communication and advertising, related ancillary business activities, social media and best practices, and, more recently, documentation related to artificial intelligence tools. While highly praised by many colleagues, there is currently no dedicated service within bar associations to support legal professionals in developing effective communication strategies and providing certified tools for law firms.

This is largely due to the lack of specific expertise within bar associations in marketing and communication. Furthermore, the wide diversity of lawyers’ activities, their structures, and their marketing objectives significantly complicates the standardization of support procedures.

AI Marketing & Law Firms: Find the tools that suit your needs.

Marketing AI is essentially still generative AI that improves and automates marketing strategies and actions. It allows law firms to prepare or refine their marketing strategy: identifying prospects, profiling clients, conducting competitive analysis, and more.

These content creation tools, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), automate and enhance the visibility of law firms on their websites and digital platforms where their clients are present.

Ultimately, these tools help attract and convert clients, prospects, and internet users through personalized outreach campaigns or targeted advertising.

The existing digital tools for developing and deploying a brand were also presented. This is indeed a crucial element in the visibility strategy of law firms.

Lawyers & Social Media: Preparation & Caution

Lawyers’ use of social media should only be part of a well-defined marketing strategy that includes:

• Identifying the type of content to be offered, the target social media platforms, the desired audience, and the services offered.

• Reflecting on the motivations behind these posts: legal information, networking, firm promotion, recruitment, etc.

Too often, lawyers embark on preparing and producing content in complex formats—podcasts, videos, image carousels—without anticipating the time and resources required, sometimes resulting in disappointing outcomes. This is because they haven’t first determined whether the target audience will be interested in and receptive to this type of content and format.

The training provided an opportunity to reiterate the importance of understanding the specific characteristics of social media and the risks of lawyers’ communication transforming into influence-based communication.

By imitating the practices of commercial influencers, lawyers may violate legal and ethical guidelines regarding communication and advertising through a race for audience reach, content distortion, competition outside of their professional lives, and a gradual blurring of the lines between private and professional life, among other things.

In an interview with Bérangère Lepetit, lawyer Chomiac de Sas discussed the contemporary challenges related to cyberbullying and the contribution of new technological solutions designed to secure online content.

Read the article on the Le Parisien website.

For several years, reports of harassment of children on social media in a school setting have been increasing, yet public authorities have yet to find effective solutions. Common in the realm of new technologies, it is the private sector and the innovation of startups that are driving the research and development of tools to support victims.

Another prime target is influencers, athletes, and public figures who, following their stances on current events and social issues, can face waves of criticism that can escalate into cyberbullying.

Online harassment: how to combat it using innovative tools

In this context, several technological solutions are emerging to help victims of these actions, both individuals and professionals, particularly through systems for capturing and recording messages for evidentiary purposes.

Historically, procedures were carried out by trusted third parties such as bailiffs or police/gendarmerie services to validate, certify, time-stamp, and store signed documents.

The technology considered for this security is often blockchain.

Indeed, combined with a form of electronic signature, blockchain technology makes it possible to protect the integrity and authenticity of a document through mechanisms for certifying its origin and obtaining third-party consent to its content.

Influencers and cyberbullying: particularly vulnerable victims

Cyberbullying is on the rise, fueled by social media platforms that encourage immediate and irrational posting. Live interactions and instant chat on streaming services like Twitch and YouTube, along with Twitter’s lax posting policies, foster abuse among users.

Many influencers, athletes, politicians, authors, and other public figures are frequently targeted on social media. Encouraged, sometimes insistently, to take a stand on current events or social issues, influencers’ posts can be met with waves of harsh criticism and even criminal content: defamation, insults, rape or death threats, and so on.

The sheer volume of posts makes it difficult to search for and identify the content.

Blockchain & electronic signature: new forms of proof

Electronic signature. In matters of evidence, French law distinguishes between so-called legal proof and imperfect proof:

Legal or “perfect” proof concerns elements whose probative value is guaranteed by law: written documents (authentic or private), judicial admissions, decisive oaths, and reliable copies.

Imperfect proof, left to the discretion of judges, concerns all writings that do not constitute perfect proof: witness statements, supplementary oaths, extrajudicial admissions, judicial presumptions, acknowledgments, etc.

Based on Article 1362, blockchain fingerprints can be associated with a beginning of proof in writing: “any writing which, emanating from the person contesting an act or from the person they represent, makes what is alleged plausible.”

Blockchain & criminal law. In criminal matters, which are stricter in nature, evidence is freely admissible by any means (CPC. Art 427), including unfairly obtained outside judicial authorities (Crim. 31 Jan. 2007 n° 06-82.383) under the sovereign discretion of the judges.

Legal and judicial recognition of blockchain

EIn France, several legal provisions and government positions have recognized the contribution of blockchain technology:

• Ordinance No. 2017-1674 of December 8, 2017, concerning the use of a shared electronic registration system for the representation and transfer of financial securities.

• Decree No. 2018-1226 of December 24, 2018, concerning the use of a shared electronic registration system for the representation and transfer of financial securities and for the issuance and transfer of minibonds (this provision was repealed in 2021).

• Law No. 2019-486 of May 22, 2019, concerning the growth and transformation of businesses, known as the PACTE Law.

A question posed to the Government in 2019 concluded that the use of blockchain as evidence was sufficiently supported by existing law: freedom of proof of legal facts (Article 1358 of the Civil Code), private acts (Article 1359 of the Civil Code), non-discrimination against electronic documents provided the author is identified and the integrity of the storage is guaranteed (Article 1366 of the Civil Code), free proof between merchants (Article 110-3), and rules on electronic signatures (Article 1367 of the Civil Code).

Internationally, foreign jurisdictions are gradually taking positions on the status and evidentiary value granted to blockchain:

In China, on September 7, 2018, the Chinese Supreme Court admitted the admissibility of evidence of data authenticity from a blockchain.

In Italy, Law No. 12/19 of January 11, 2019, concerning support and simplification for businesses and public administration, establishes legal recognition for the time-stamping function based on blockchain.

Attorney Chomiac de Sas had the opportunity to speak with journalists from Le Figaro while preparing a story on automated video surveillance using artificial intelligence tools.

Find our detailed summary of our discussions with France Info regarding the regulation of these new systems during the Olympic Games.

Automated Video Surveillance: AI & Public Order

The use of video surveillance systems is governed by different legal provisions depending on whether they are installed in a public or private space. For cameras enhanced with artificial intelligence tools within this same system, additional rules apply when the collected and processed images contain personal data.

Facial recognition: legality & prohibition

Facial recognition is part of a set of techniques and processes that enable the identification or authentication of an individual based on physical, physiological, behavioral, or biometric data.

The technical processing of this facial recognition initially involves collecting the image of the face, transforming it into a template, and then comparing it to other models from a database that enables recognition.

Such processes are strictly regulated by various legal texts guaranteeing the protection of privacy: the French Data Protection Act (Law No. 78-17 of January 6, 1978, as amended on June 1, 2019), Article 10 of the “police-justice” directive (Directive (EU) 2016/680), Articles 4 and 9 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and certain provisions of the French Internal Security Code.

As such, the mere detection of faces by so-called smart camera systems or augmented cameras does not constitute a facial recognition provision.

VSA Law & Olympic Games: Artificial Intelligence

In anticipation of the Paris Olympic Games this summer, the law of May 19, 2023, authorized, on an experimental basis, an automated video surveillance system that uses artificial intelligence software to analyze images and behaviors of the public. This authorization for automated video surveillance runs until March 31, 2025, and also applies to other types of sporting, cultural, or recreational events deemed high-risk.

This system has been the subject of criticism and reservations, notably from the CNIL (French Data Protection Authority) and the Defender of Rights, given the risks associated with restrictions on movement within competition areas and policies for excluding individuals deemed “undesirable” or exhibiting “abnormal” behavior.

This law explicitly prohibited the use of facial recognition tools within the framework of this automated video surveillance.