Notices
Legal notices
Publisher
The Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques (SACD), a non-trading society with a variable capital, entered in the Paris Trade & Companies Register under number D 784 406 936
Registered office: 11 bis rue Ballu, 75009 Paris, France.
Phone: +33 (0)1 40 23 44 55
Contact: depot@sacd.fr
Head of publication: Pascal ROGARD, SACD Director General
Website Hosting:
Axess ONLINE, a limited liability company with a single shareholder and a capital of €150,000, entered in the Paris Trade and Companies Register under number 489 548 065
Registered office: 1 rue Mozart, Espace du Parc, 26000 Valence, France
Tel: +33 (0)4 75 82 00 80
Web: www.axess-online.com
Contact: contact-online@axess.fr
Electronic Safe Hosting
Cecurity.com, a limited company with a share capital of €1,089,000, entered in the Paris Trade and Companies Register under number B 434 330 338
Registered office: 75 rue Saint-Lazare, 75009 Paris, France
Tel: +33 (0)1 56 56 43 16 21.
www.cecurity.com
Web: www.cecurity.com
e-dpo
GTU
Version #9, 30 September 2025
The purpose of these General Terms of Use is to specify the terms and conditions of access and use of the e-dpo online service.
Article 1: Definitions
Account: the personal and secure online space of a Depositor, used by said Depositor to upload Works into their Electronic Safe for deposit and management of said Works.
Author: a natural person who materially creates a Work of the mind.
Co-author: a natural person who jointly contributes to the creation of a collaborative work within the meaning of French copyright law.
Electronic Safe: a storage space in which digital files are deposited and securely retained along with the Data associated with the Works they contain.
File: every digital document (pdf, word, etc.) containing the Work (text, image, video, sound, etc.) deposited in the Electronic Safe.
Originality: expression of the Author’s creative activity, this being a condition of protection of the Work under the Intellectual Property Code.
Depositor: a natural person (whether or not the Author of the deposited Work) or a legal entity who creates an Account to deposit Works, under their responsibility, in their own name and/or on behalf of an Author or multiple Co-authors.
Related Data: descriptive data of the deposited Work (title and category of the Work, type of medium, first name and family name of the Depositor and Authors).
Related Documents: documents generated by e-dpo for each deposit made by the Depositor, namely: deposit certificate, renewal certificate and invoice which are generated upon the deposit or the Work or its renewal. These documents are available on the Depositor’s Account.
Work: original creation being perceivable by the senses.
Article 2: Scope of the e-dpo service
e-dpo is an online service for the deposit of Works that provides proof of the existence of a Work by the identified Author(s) on a specific date. This proof can be submitted to a court to establish the prior existence and/or ownership of a Work.
The e-dpo service is based on the deposit, in an Electronic Safe, of Files containing Works, under conditions that ensure their safe and confidential preservation for a specified period of time.
e-dpo is a service open to all Authors, whether or not they be members of a collective management organisation. Authors may, where applicable, be represented by such an organisation or by a third party who deposits the Work on their behalf and in their name, whatever its genre (audiovisual, theatrical, still image, scientific, literary, musical, multimedia, radio, or other) and whatever its stage of development (synopsis, script, etc.).
Article 3: Accessing the e-dpo service
1. Create an Account: Access to the e-dpo service, including the provision of an Electronic Safe, requires creating an Account on the website https://e-dpo.com.
The Account login is the Depositor’s email address, and the password is the one created when opening the Account, in accordance with the password strength requirements set by the e-dpo service
If a Depositor forgets or loses their password, they may request that a reset link to be sent to their email address by clicking on the “forgotten password” link available on the https://e-dpo.com website.
If a Depositor forgets their identifier (i.e. the email address used for the e-dpo service), they should contact SACD by email at depot@sacd.fr, attaching a copy of their identity document. SACD will then inform them of the procedure to follow.
The Depositor is solely responsible for disclosing their login details and password to third parties, including to the Authors of the deposited Works, as well as for any use that may be made of them.
The Depositor is responsible for the accuracy of the information they provide, particularly the validity of their email address. For proper management of the Account and deposits, the Depositor must, as and when necessary, update information relating to their Account and to deposits, doing so as per the procedures set out in “Exercise of Rights by Individuals” under Personal Data in the e-dpo service.
2 – Legal Capacity: The Depositor declares that they have the legal capacity to subscribe to the e-dpo service. Failing this, the Depositor must first send authorisation from their legal representative(s), either by email to depot@sacd.fr or by land mail to:
SACD, DAASU / Service Dépôt, TSA 90046, 75437 Paris Cedex 9, France.
3 – Language: The language associated with the Account and related Documents is, by default, that of the e-dpo website at the time of first login and Account creation (French, Dutch, or English). The Depositor may change this language at any time from their Account. Any documents generated before such change will remain in the language in which they were created.
4 – Enforceability of the General Terms of Use: The Depositor acknowledges having read and unreservedly accepted these General Terms of Use at the time of creating their Account. The SACD reserves the right to amend them. Subject to Article 6.3 below, each new, numbered and dated version of the General Terms of Use shall apply from the date it is published on the e-dpo website to all existing and future accounts, as well as to all current and future deposits. The Depositor is therefore advised to consult the current General Terms of Use regularly.
Article 4: Depositing a Work
1 – Protecting a Work: in accordance with French and international copyright law, “the author of a work of the mind shall enjoy an exclusive, intangible property right in that work by the mere fact of its creation, enforceable against all” (Article L.111-1 of the French Intellectual Property Code).
French copyright law protects works of the mind provided they be original, doing so without there being any to carry out administrative formalities.
However, for the purpose of pre-emptive protection against a dispute or claim concerning a Work, it may be useful to have proof of the Work’s existence and of the identity of its author(s) on a specific date.
Furthermore, under Article 1366 of the French Civil Code, “an electronic document shall have the same evidential value as a paper document, provided that the person from whom it originates can be duly identified and that it is created and stored under conditions that guarantee its integrity.”
It is for this purpose, and in accordance with the above-mentioned Article of the French Civil Code, that the SACD has set up e-dpo, an online service to deposit Works.
The deposit does not confer any rights. It serves solely as proof of a Work’s prior existence and ownership. Accordingly, only a copy of the Work should be deposited, and the Depositor must keep the original of the Work on a non- modifiable medium.
Simply depositing a Work cannot be construed as asserting the originality of the Work contained in the File, this being the reserved prerogative of a court of law.
If changes are made to a deposited Work, it is recommended to make a new deposit in order to obtain proof of the amended Work.
The title of a deposited Work cannot be altered, so as to preserve the legal validity of the deposit.
A deposit does not imply membership of the Depositor nor the Authors of the Work to the SACD. However, the Author must be an SACD member and the concerned Work must be declared to the collective management organisation if royalties generated by the Work are to be collected and distributed.
2. Depositing a Work: the Depositor uploads, from their Account, the File containing the Work. The File is then automatically stored in the Electronic Safe.
Each File corresponds to a single deposit of a Work.
The Depositor may upload any type and format of File to the Electronic Safe. The maximum size for each File is 150 MB; if necessary, the File may be compressed.
There is no limit on the number of Works that can be deposited in the Depositor’s Electronic Safe.
Once the File has been uploaded to the Electronic Safe, the Depositor cannot download or view its contents; the purpose of this restriction is to ensure the legal validity of the deposits. However, they may access, from their Account, the history of their current deposits as well as the related data and invoices for the entire duration of their validity.
If the Depositor is not the Author of the Work, or is a Co-author, they must inform the Author or Co-authors of the Work of the status of the deposit and of any actions relating to it within the e-dpo service.
Article 5: Duration of Deposit and Renewal of Deposit
1 – Initial Duration: The initial duration of the deposit corresponds to the time period chosen by the Depositor at the time of deposit, as defined in Article 8.3.
2 – Renewal: Depending on the option selected at the time of renewal, the Depositor may renew the deposit at any time, but no later than three months after the expiry date of the current validity period, doing so for a duration corresponding to the chosen option
One month before the expiry date of a renewable deposit, the Depositor will receive an email from the e-dpo service notifying them of this upcoming deadline. If the deposit is not renewed within one month of this first alert, the Depositor will receive a second reminder email on the expiry date. If the deposit is not renewed within three months of the expiry date, the Depositor will receive an email informing them that the deposit has expired.
An Author who is not the Depositor of the Work may also request the renewal of the deposit at any time, but no later than three months after the deposit’s expiry date. The request must be sent by land-mail to SACD, 11 bis rue Ballu, 75009 Paris, France, accompanied by a cheque covering the renewal fee, along with a copy of their identity document and the deposit certificate that the Depositor must have provided in accordance with their obligation described above and in Article 10.2 of these General Terms of Use.
3 – Deleting a Deposit: if a deposit is not renewed, and unless a return request is made under the conditions set out in Article 11 below, the File and its associated Data will be automatically and securely deleted. The corresponding invoice will be retained and accessible from the Depositor’s Account for one year following the deletion of the File and associated Data.
Article 6: Fees
1 – Pricing Options: All prices (single deposit, package, and renewal) are listed under the “Fees” rubric on the website https://e-dpo.com
2 – Package: The “three deposits” package is valid for three years. This entitled the Depositor to deposit two other Works within three years of the first, at no extra cost. Each deposit made under the package has its own conservation period according to the option chosen at the time of deposit.
If the Depositor has not used up their package within three years of the first deposit, they will receive an alert email at their deposited address four months before the three-year expiry date. If the package has still not been used within one month of this first reminder, the Depositor will receive a second alert email three months before expiry. If the package has not been used before the expiry date, the Depositor will receive an email on that date informing them that their package has expired.
Any deposit(s) made under the package will be conserved and treated in the way as individual deposits.
No refund will be made by SACD in the event of partial use of a package.
3 – Changes to Pricing Options
The SACD reserves the right to amend its pricing policy for deposits and renewals at any time. Any changes will be communicated to the Depositor via the e-dpo website and at the time of making a new deposit or renewal. The new pricing policy will apply to all deposits and renewals made after its effective date.
Article 7: VAT (“Sales Tax”)
1 – Any Depositor residing in France or whose deposited office is in France is liable for VAT.
2 – A corporate Depositor whose deposited office is located within the European Union (outside France) may reclaim VAT by entering its EU VAT number (Article 196 of VAT Directive 2008/8/EC of 12 February 2008). The SACD is not responsible for the validity of the VAT number entered, and the e-dpo service does not carry out any verification in this regard. In the event of an entry error, the corporate Depositor can change its EU VAT number via their Account.
3 – A Depositor who resides or has their deposited office outside the European Union is not subject to the 20% VAT rate.
Article 8: Payment Terms
1 – The Depositor makes payment for their deposit (single or package) or renewal via the Payzen online payment system, with transactions secured by SSL protocol. The Depositor can use CB, Visa, or Mastercard bank cards.
2 – The Depositor receives the invoice for the deposit or renewal by email and may also download it from their Account for the entire duration of the deposit’s validity, and for one year following the expiry date of the deposit or its most recent renewal.
3 – In accordance with Articles 289 of the French General Tax Code and L.123-22 of the French Commercial Code, a copy of the invoice is retained by the e-dpo service for ten years in an Electronic Safe.
Article 9: Right of Withdrawal
1 – The Depositor has a period of 14 days from the date of deposit, as defined in Article 8.3 above, to exercise their right of withdrawal in accordance with the French Consumer Code. The request must be sent by email to depot@sacd.fr, accompanied by the deposit certificate, a copy of their identity document, and Bank Account Details, as well as, where applicable, the written consent of the Author or Co-authors and copies of their identity documents.
2 – Upon receipt of the withdrawal request, and no later than 14 days thereafter, the e-dpo service will cancel the deposit concerned, return the File with the Work to the Depositor, delete it from the Electronic Safe, and refund the corresponding amount to the bank account indicated on the bank account details provided.
Article 10: Proof of Deposit and of Renewal
1 – Upon validation of a deposit or renewal, the deposit or renewal certificate is sent by email to the Depositor, who may also download it from their Account for the entire duration of the deposit’s validity.
2 – When the Depositor is not the Author of the Work contained in the File, or is a Co-author Depositor, they are required to forward the deposit or renewal certificate to the Co-authors of the Work to inform them of the existence and conditions of the Deposit.
3 – The Depositor can, at their own expense, appoint a bailiff (also referred to as a judicial officer) to access a copy of the Work contained in the File, with the written consent of the Author or Co-authors of the Work, accompanied by a copy of their identity document.
4 – Any Author who is not the Depositor of a deposited Work can, at their own expense, appoint a bailiff to access the corresponding File, with the written consent of the Depositor and the Co-authors of the Work, accompanied by a copy of their identity document.
5 – The bailiff is authorised to make a copy of the Work by downloading the corresponding File onto their own equipment, and none other. Access, by the bailiff, to the File containing the Work, shall not have an effect on the deposit’s priority date or its preservation until the expiry date.
6 – For deposits originating in France or any country outside the Benelux, the bailiff’s access to the File containing the Work takes place at SACD’s premises, 11 bis rue Ballu, 75009 Paris, France (Tel.: +33 (0)1 40 23 44 55), without SACD staff having access to the Work.
7 – For deposits originating from the Benelux, the bailiff’s access to the File containing the Work takes place at Maison des auteurs, rue du Prince Royal, 1050 Brussels, Belgium (Tel.: +32 2 551 03 20 or 21), without Maison des Auteurs staff having access to the Work.
8 – Any bailiff may, under the same conditions, access a deposit on the strength of a court order.
Article 11: Returning a Deposit
1 – During the validity period of the deposit and for up to three months following its expiry date, the Depositor may request the return of the File containing the Work.
2 – Such request must be sent by email (depot@sacd.fr) or by land mail to SACD – DAASU / Service Dépôt / TSA 90046 / 75437 Paris CEDEX 9, France, and must include the deposit certificate, a copy of the Depositor’s identity document, and the written consent of the Author or Co-authors, accompanied by copies of their identity documents.
3 – Any Author who is not the Depositor of the deposited Work may, under the same conditions, request that the SACD return of the File containing the Work in accordance by following the procedure described above.
4 – Once the File is returned, the e-dpo service deletes all information relating to the Deposit. The Depositor, the Author, and the Co-authors then lose the proof of the Work’s prior existence and ownership, which can no longer be invoked before a court. It is the Depositor’s responsibility to inform the Author and Co-authors of the Work of the consequences of returning a Work before obtaining their consent to said return.
5 – The return of the File containing the Work does not entitle the Depositor to a refund from SACD for the cost of the deposit or its renewal.
Article 12: Closing an Account
1 – Closure requested by Depositor: a Depositor may request the deletion of their Account at any time. This will automatically result in the destruction of all active deposits. The Depositor, the Author, and the Co-authors of the deposited Works will then lose proof of the Works’ prior existence and ownership, which can no longer be invoked before a court.
The Depositor must submit their Account deletion request by email (depot@sacd.fr) or by land mail to SACD – DAASU / Service Dépôt / TSA 90046 / 75437 Paris CEDEX 9, France, attaching the deposit certificate and a copy of their identity document. It is the Depositor’s responsibility to inform the Author(s) of the deposited Works of the consequences of deleting the Account on the proof of the Works, obtain their written consent, and include this consent along with copies of their identity documents with the deletion request
2 – Automatic Closure of Inactive Accounts: if an Account has not been accessed for an unbroken period of twelve months and there are no active deposits in the Electronic Safe during this period, the Account will be automatically deleted. At the end of the twelve-month period, the Depositor will receive an email informing them of the Account’s inactivity and advising the Depositor that the Account will be deleted within the following thirty days if no login occurs during that time. At the end of the thirty days, and if no login has taken place, the Depositor will receive an email notifying them that their Account has been deleted.
The Depositor may subsequently create a new Account at any time
Article 13: Warranties and Liability
1 – The deposit is confidential and made under the sole responsibility of the Depositor and the Authors of the Work. In this regard, the Depositor certifies that they have the Authors’ authorisation to make the deposit in the Electronic Safe.
2 – The SACD, through the Electronic Safe provider, guarantees the security, confidentiality, and integrity of the File containing the Work for the entire duration of the Deposit, including any renewals.
3 – The SACD guarantees proof of the date and time of the deposit made by the Depositor, including, where applicable, on behalf of the Author or Co-authors.
4 – The SACD guarantees that it shall be in a position to return the File at any time in the exact state in which it was uploaded to the Electronic Safe.
5 – The SACD guarantees that it will at no time access the contents of the File. Consequently, the e-dpo service does not verify the readability of the File uploaded by the Depositor into the Electronic Safe, for which the Depositor alone is responsible.
6 – The SACD is not responsible for the content of the File and cannot be held liable for any unlawful or illegal nature of its contents, particularly regarding any infringement of intellectual property rights of the Works deposited in the Electronic Safe. In this regard, the Depositor shall guarantee and hold harmless the SACD from any actions or claims, including relating to the intellectual property of the deposited Works.
7 – The SACD is not responsible for the accuracy or legality of the information provided by the Depositor. Given the legal definition of “Author” under French law and in these General Terms of Use, the SACD is not responsible for any declaration by a corporate Depositor as the Author of the Work.
8 – The Depositor is solely responsible for monitoring the deposit, including renewing it within the contractual timeframe. The SACD cannot be held liable for emails sent by the e-dpo service, in particular regarding their receipt or actual reading by the Depositor.
9 – The SACD cannot be held liable for non-performance or improper performance of the deposit contract when caused by the Depositor, by an unforeseeable and insurmountable act of a third party, or by a force majeure event.
10 – In the event of loss, destruction, or deterioration of the File containing the Work and/or associated Data, if the SACD’s liability were to be established, it shall not exceed the cost of the deposit in effect on the date the incident is discovered, provided that no further damage has been caused. For a deposit made under a package, the deposit cost to be considered shall correspond to one-third of the package price in effect at the time of the incident.
Article 14: Interruption of the e-dpo Service
1 – The e-dpo service is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, subject to the provisions below.
2 – The SACD undertakes to use all reasonable means to ensure the continuity of the e-dpo service, subject to interruptions for any legitimate reason, including maintenance, website updates, at the request of a court, or in the event of force majeure, without these causes giving rise to any entitlement to compensation.
Article 15: Support and Contact
1 – The e-dpo service website provides online assistance in the form of a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section.
2 – The e-dpo service website also offers a contact form for submitting any questions regarding the service’s operation.
3 – The SACD provides support in the event of any difficulties encountered by the Depositor. Assistance is provided via the contact form.
Article 16: Miscellaneous Provisions
The fact that a party to the deposit agreement does not enforce a clause of the General Terms of Use, or does not contest its non-performance, whether permanent or temporary, shall not be interpretable as a waiver by that party to the rights arising from that clause.
Any dispute regarding the interpretation or application of these General Terms of Use shall be governed by French law and submitted to the competent courts of Paris, subject to compliance with mandatory provisions of national and international laws concerning applicable law and jurisdiction.
PERSONAL DATA
Processing of Personal Data: Controller, Legal Basis, and Purpose
As part of the e-dpo online deposit service and in accordance with its General Terms of Use, SACD collects and processes, as the data controller:
- The Depositor’s personal data (first and last name, postal address, email address, phone number, banking information) for the purpose of creating their Account and granting access to the e-dpo service.
- The personal data of the Depositor, as well as, where applicable, the Author’s and Co-authors’ data (first and last names) for the purpose of managing the deposit of Works.
In SACD’s legitimate interest to provide information and assistance related to the e-dpo online service, SACD also collects and processes the personal data of individuals who submit the online contact form (first and last name, email address, country of residence) in order to respond to their requests.
Mandatory fields are marked with an asterisk (*): the corresponding information is required for SACD to carry out the purposes for which the data are collected.
Recipients of Personal Data
Access to personal data processed within the e-dpo service is limited to the following parties, within the scope of their respective duties:
i) authorised SACD staff;
ii) authorised staff of La Maison des Auteurs in Brussels (an association whose members include SACD Belgium, SCAM Belgium, SOFAM, and deAuteurs);
iii) IT service providers acting on behalf of SACD;
iv) bailiffs (also referred to as judicial officers) acting to carry out reports at the request of the Depositor, the Authors, or the court.
Conservation periods for personal data
Personal data are conserved as follows:
- For the duration of the Account’s validity (data necessary for its management);
- For the duration of the deposit (data related to each deposit), and thereafter for three months following the deposit’s expiry date, and for one year following that date (for data related to invoices).
Exercise of Rights by Individuals
In accordance with data protection regulations (European Regulation No. 2016/679 of 27 April 2016, known as the General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR, applicable from 25 May 2018, and French Law n° 78-17 of 6 January 1978 on Information Technology, Files and Freedoms, as amended), any person whose personal data are processed by SACD within the e-dpo online service has the following rights: access, rectification, erasure (right to be forgotten), and data portability; Opposition to or restriction of processing; the right to define general or specific instructions regarding the handling of personal data after death (retention, deletion, disclosure, etc.).
These rights may be exercised at any time:
- By the Depositor:
- From their Account: The Depositor can modify the following information, among others: EU VAT number (e.g., in case of an error when creating the Account), membership of an authors’ society (e.g., following a later affiliation), Account management language, email address, phone number, postal address, country of residence, and password.
- By written request to SACD, either by email (depot@sacd.fr) or by land mail (SACD – DAASU / Service Dépôt / TSA 90046 / 75437 Paris CEDEX 9, France). In particular, the Depositor may request changes to the deposit information, such as the Work’s category and genre, or the addition or removal of a co-author. The request must include a copy of the Depositor’s identity document and, where applicable, copies of the identity documents of all co-authors associated with the Work concerned.
By any individual (Depositor, Author, Co-author, or user of the contact form):
- By email (depot@sacd.fr) or by land mail (SACD – DAASU / Service Dépôt / TSA 90046 / 75437 Paris CEDEX 9, France);
- With SACD’s Data Protection Officer (DPO) by email (dpo@sacd.fr) or by land mail (SACD – DPO, 11 bis rue Ballu, 75009 Paris, France);
- In the event of a complaint, the French Digital Privacy Watchdog (CNIL) may also be contacted.
Lastly, any individual may register on the “BLOCTEL” opt-out list to prevent unsolicited marketing calls.