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In a judgment handed down on November 22, 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union held that the provision according to which information on the beneficial owners of companies should be accessible in all cases to any member of the general public was invalid, as it considered that such open access constituted a serious interference with fundamental rights enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

In a press release dated January 19, 2023, Mr. Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy, Finance, Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, decided “to maintain the general public’s access to the data recorded in the register of beneficial owners until proper conclusions regarding the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union are reached”.

Open since January 1, 2023, the One-Stop Shop for business formalities (Guichet Unique in French) introduced by the 2019 Pacte Law in order to simplify administrative procedures for businesses has already raised harsh criticism and discontent as its too many malfunctions make it almost ineffective.

Legal and accounting professionals are unanimously mobilized to assist and support companies through this reform.

Pursuant to the first paragraph of Article L. 227-16 of the French Commercial Code, “In accordance with the conditions which they so determine, the by-laws may specify that a shareholder may be required to sell the shares he/she/it holds in the company.”

The second paragraph of Article L. 227-19 of the French Commercial Code, in its version applicable since July 21, 2019, stipulates that the exclusion clauses referred to in Articles L.227-18 “can only be adopted or amended pursuant to a unanimous decision of the shareholders, in the manner and under the conditions provided for in the by-laws”.

In a recent decision issued on December 9, 2022, following four applications for a preliminary ruling on the issue of constitutionality, the Constitutional Council ruled on the conformity of these provisions with the French Constitution.

As of January 1, 2023, the formalities for the registration, change and cancellation of liens and pledges over intangible movable property will have to be carried out in a single register called the “register of security interests over moveable property and other related transactions”.

This register was created by Decree dated December 29, 2021, with the aim of simplifying the rules governing the publication of security interests over moveable property, which until now varied according to the type of security interest concerned.

A chapter dedicated to this register has been incorporated into the French Commercial Code by the aforementioned Decree, and provides a number of clarifications.

The trademark “L’EQUIPE”, renowned in the sports publishing business, had also been registered for other services. However, its owner should have made a serious use of it to have a strong legal base to bring an action for infringement and to avoid the risk of revocation.

But, for judges, sponsoring a sporting event does not mean making use of…

Given the extensive development of NFTs (“Non-Fungible Tokens”, Jeton Non Fongibles or “JNFs” in French), it had become urgent to assess the current legal situation and then to propose solutions or at least avenues of reflection to control their expansion, while respecting copyright and related rights (also known as neighboring rights).

This mission was entrusted to the Higher Council for Literary and Artistic Property (Conseil supérieur de la propriété littéraire et artistique) which presented its report on the subject on July 12, 2022.