scène à faire

plural scènes à faire

1. literary criticismentertainmentA scene which is demanded by the progression of the plot so far; an indispensable culminating scene.
2. lawAn element of a creative work which is customary to the genre and therefore not eligible for copyright protection.

   1 more example

   Accordingly, tropes (recurrent scenes or motifs) or scènes à faire (sequences of events that necessarily result from the choice of a setting or situation) are not entitled to copyright protection. For example, courts have found that drunks, prostitutes, vermin, and derelict cars are scènes à faire in works about policemen in the South Bronx; conspiracies, characters with superhuman qualities, and advanced technology are scènes à faire in the action-adventure and science fiction genres; heroes performing feats of miraculous strength, fighting megalomaniac villains, and leading double lives are scènes à faire in works about superheroes; and lying under a chicken, sitting in a refrigerator, and facing the possibility of being scrambled or fried are scènes à faire in works about the personification of an egg.

   2026 March 16, Judge Colleen McMahon, “Freeman v. Deebs-Elkenaney, 1:22-cv-02435, (S.D.N.Y. Mar 16, 2026) ECF No. 548”, in Court Listener, retrieved 23 Feb 2020