The magazine press editors' union (SEPM) and Sacem announced on Monday that they had signed an agreement to create the very first collective management body for neighboring rights, which obliges digital platforms to pay publishers and press agencies for the use of their content.
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This future organization "
will have vocation to welcome within it all the holders of neighboring press rights who wish to opt for collective management of this right
", underline the two partners in a
press
release.
Publishers are struggling to get this right recognized
If the idea of collectively managing the collection and distribution of sums from neighboring rights had been mentioned by various actors since the birth of this law, created by a European directive in 2019, this is the first time, in France and in the world, that press editors are launching an approach in this direction, stressed to AFP Jean-Noël Tronc, managing director of Sacem, and François Claverie, vice-president of SEPM.
And according to them, this could help to concretely apply neighboring law, whereas up to now, press editors have struggled to have this right recognized, which France was nevertheless the first member of the EU to transpose (from 2019 ). “
There is the law, but it has to be enforced, and publishers are struggling to do it. Since the creation of the neighboring right in 2019, our claim has increased and it is time to assert our right,
”says François Claverie.
"
We are really for Europe at a crossroads
", abounds Jean-Noël Tronc, who sees in this agreement "
a historic initiative which exceeds French territory by its strategic importance
", and could serve as a model for other countries. The structure in the process of being set up, which does not yet have a name, will be based on Sacem's expertise in internet rights management, which dates back to 1999. But the organization will be "
totally independent of Sacem.
», Assures Jean-Noël Tronc.
With this collective body, "
the idea is to be united in the demand for a cake, and then to manage its collection and distribution,
" says the vice-president of SEPM. Like a cooperative, collective management makes it possible to "
come together to be stronger and to establish a constructive and less unbalanced dialogue possible
" with all platforms, well beyond Google and Facebook, also pleads the Sacem.
