The publisher may not transfer the benefits of the publishing contract to a third party, either
for a consideration or free of charge, or as a contribution to the assets of a partnership,
independent from the business, without first obtaining the authorization of the author.
In the event of transfer of the business in such a way as seriously to compromise the material
or moral interests of the author, the author shall be entitled to obtain reparation even by means
of termination of the contract.
Where the publishing business was run as a company or a coparcenary, the allocation of the
business to one of the former partners or one of the coparceners as a result of liquidation or
division shall in no case be considered an assignment.
Article 55:
In respect of trade editions, the author may receive a lump sum payment for the first edition,
subject to his formally expressed agreement in the following cases:
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scientific or technical works;
anthologies and encyclopedias;
prefaces, annotations, introductions, forewords;
illustrations for a work;
limited deluxe editions;
at the request of the translator for translations.
A lump sum payment may also be made for the assignment of rights to or by a person or
enterprise established abroad.
For works of the mind published in newspapers and periodicals of any kind and by press
agencies, the remuneration of the author, bound to the information enterprise by a contract for
hire or of service, may also be settled with a lump sum.
Article 56:
The publishing contract shall end, independently of the cases laid down in the general rules of
law or in the preceding articles, when the publisher carries out the complete destruction of the
copies.
The contract shall terminate automatically if, upon formal notice by the author fixing a
reasonable period of time, the publisher has not effected publication of the work or, should the
work be out of print, its republication.
The work shall be deemed out of print if two orders for delivery of copies addressed to the
publisher have not been met within three months.
If, in the event of the author’s death, the work is incomplete, the contract shall be rescinded as
regards the unfinished part of the work, except if agreed otherwise between the publisher and
the author’s successors in title.
Section IV - Performance contracts
Article 57:
A performance contract shall be concluded for a limited period or for a specific number of
performances. The validity of the exclusive rights granted by a playwright may not exceed