DVP welcomes the parliamentary support for the defence of neighbouring rights in the press, following the tabling on 13 February of a bill aimed at strengthening their effectiveness.
The bill provides for the establishment of a list of information that digital platforms must provide to press operators in the context of neighbouring rights licence negotiations, under penalty of a fine.
As the text points out, the press sector has been suffering for years from a significant erosion of its advertising resources, while at the same time, digital giants are generating substantial revenues from the online publication of content produced by publishers and press agencies.
The 2019 European Directive on ‘copyright and related rights in the digital single market’, which was very quickly transposed into French law, provided publishers and press agencies with a basis for obtaining a share of the value generated by the exploitation of their content by digital platforms under their related rights. This first, fundamental step has enabled several negotiations to begin.
However, these are not without structural difficulties, caused by the reluctance of platforms to enter into licensing agreements, systematically questioning the scope of eligible titles and news agencies and refusing to provide all the information necessary to calculate the value of related rights.
This is why DVP actively supports the provisions set out in the draft law, which will strengthen the obligation of transparency regarding financial and usage data, which is currently only provided to them in an unsatisfactory manner after long and laborious negotiations – if at all.
Finally, with regard to the implementation of binding measures to counter the delaying tactics of digital platforms, which extend the duration of remuneration negotiations far beyond what is reasonable, DVP is convinced that in-depth work by the legislator, involving all stakeholders, is necessary on this subject.
That is why DVP is now calling for the bill to be placed on the parliamentary agenda as soon as possible.