Europe 1 with AFP 11:08 a.m., April 18, 2022

Google has reached an agreement with the French magazine press to remunerate its titles in the name of "rights related to copyright", the web giant announced on Friday to AFP.

Rights related to copyright allow newspapers, magazines or press agencies to be remunerated when their content is reused on the Internet.

After two and a half years of arm wrestling, Google has reached an agreement with the French magazine press to remunerate its titles in the name of "rights neighboring copyright", announced the web giant on Friday to AFP, confirming information from

Figaro

.

Rights related to copyright, established for digital platforms in 2019 by a European directive, allow newspapers, magazines or press agencies to be remunerated when their content is reused on the Internet by giants like Google, whose engine search displays news snippets in its results pages.

A framework agreement proposed to publishers' unions

It is in this capacity that the firm proposed a framework agreement to the union of magazine press publishers (SEPM), which represents 80 publishers for more than 400 titles, including

Le Point

,

Marianne

or

Capital

), which validated Thursday, according to Le

Figaro

.

"The total amount of the agreement would be around 20 million euros per year", according to information from the daily.

“We are delighted with the decision of the executive committee of the SEPM, which validates our offer relating to neighboring rights”, indicated to AFP Sébastien Missoffe, vice-president and general manager of Google France.

This retroactive text "will make it possible to remunerate" the members of the SEPM, added the leader of Google France, who has already sealed agreements with Agence France Presse this fall and the Alliance for the press of general information (Apig), for the daily press, at the beginning of March.

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Rights that come from an uphill battle

"This is a major step in our commitment to respect French law", welcomed Sébastien Missoffe, stressing that AFP, Apig and SEPM "represented around two thirds of the online audience. press publications in France".

"We remain fully committed to reaching agreements with all publishers and news agencies affected by neighboring rights" of copyright, he added.

The establishment of these rights stems from a tough battle, as the principle was opposed by the giants of the net, and Google in particular.

The SEPM notably seized the competition authority on several occasions from 2019, with Apig and AFP, then alone in January 2022. In July 2021, the French competition policeman imposed a fine of 500 million euros. euros to Google, accusing it of not having negotiated "in good faith" with press publishers on the application of neighboring rights.

Contacted by AFP, the SEPM did not respond.