Under the appellation “Copyright”, the prerogatives relating to the exclusive exploitation of a person’s creation, including all the modalities in respect of the protection which he may claim for it, arc recognised in favour of the person under whose name a literary, scientific or artistic work is made public, constituting, at least for a limited period, a legal monopoly to this effect.

Whereas subjective rights, established in relation to a totality of values, positive or negative, devolve upon the same person and are divided into patrimonial and extra patrimonial rights, the monopoly of exploitation indicated in Article I, and vested in the author, composes only the patrimonial rights, without prejudice to the non-commercial privilege, which devolves upon him, of conserving the mastery of his thought and of his work, and of deciding, if need be, upon its publication or its non publication. This right, which belongs to him alone, is absolute: It is discretionary.