This long battle is finally coming to an end. For several years, the French media have been demanding remuneration for the use of excerpts and content by the GOOGLE search engine. This battle, led by the Alliance de la presse d'information générale (APIG) on behalf of the European Copyright Directive, finally seems to be bearing fruit.
The Competition Authority had arbitrated the dispute between the APIG and Google, which was accused of failing to comply with its obligation to negotiate neighboring rights with the French media.
In January 2021, almost a year ago, the French press succeeded in signing a remuneration agreement for its content used by the digital giant. This agreement paved the way for a better sharing of digital revenues for the benefit of French press publishers. The agreement established a framework within which Google could negotiate individual licensing agreements with press publishers based on a number of criteria. One of the main criteria in particular concerned the theme of publications, which had to relate to political and general information.
On November 17, Agence Française de Presse (AFP) successfully reached an agreement with Google. The American giant has committed to paying AFP for the content it uses. This agreement is crucial for the French press, especially after 18 months of high tension between the parties involved. It is the first agreement reached between a news agency and Google.
What we know about the terms of the contract is that it will cover all AFP content used within the European Union, even if countries do not yet have neighboring rights in this area.