France: Law No. 2019-775 of July 24, 2019, on the Creation of Neighboring Rights for the Benefit of Press Agencies and Publishers

October 24, 2019

France: Law No. 2019-775 of July 24, 2019, on the Creation of Neighboring Rights for the Benefit of Press Agencies and Publishers entered into force on October 24, 2019.

This Law, inter alia, adds a new Chapter VIII under Part I, Book II, Single Title, in the Intellectual Property Code, which creates new rights for press agencies and publishers, in accordance with Directive (EU) 2019/790 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market and amending Directives 96/9/EC and 2001/29/EC.

The new elements of Chapter VIII provide for:

(i) the requirement for online service providers to obtain authorization from publishers of online news services or press agencies before any reproduction or communication to the public of all or part of their press publications in a digital form;

(ii) the assignment or licensing of the rights of press agencies and publishers, which shall be managed and organized with one or more collective management organizations;

(iii) compensation for press agencies or publishers to be based on the direct or indirect revenue associated with the exploitation of such rights, or alternatively, on a fixed-rate basis; and

(iv) modalities for the remuneration of authors who do not fall under the definition of "professional journalists".