Two exceptions to copyright featuring in article L122-5 of the French intellectual property code (CPI) bear on the use of a copyrighted work in a lecturing or research context: the copying exception and the citing exception for lecturing and research.

But in order to benefit from these exceptions, three necessary preconditions apply:

• The work must have been circulated,

• The source and the author of the cited or copied work must be explicitly mentioned,

• Application of these copying and citing exceptions for lecturing or researching must not "detract from normal exploitation of the work nor cause unjustified prejudice to the author’s legitimate interest".

Item 2 of article L122-5 of the IPC, as modified by the DADVSI law, determines that an author may not oppose the copying of samples of their work as part of lecturing or researching provided the three above-mentioned preconditions are respected. Therefore, using photocopies in a lecturing context, for instance, is allowed. This exception however does not apply to works created for educational purposes, sheet music or works created for the digital publication of a written work.

Item 3 of article L122-5 of the CPI, as modified by the DADVSI law, determines that an author may not oppose to "[…] analyses and short quotations justified by the critical, controversial, pedagogical, scientific or informative character of the work they are incorporated in".