Google’s $ 76 million contract with French publishers leaves many retail outlets
Google Alphabet has agreed to pay $ 76 million (approximately Rs. 552 crores) over three years to a group of 121 French news publishers to end a copyright spat over a year, documents seen by Reuters ‘show.
The agreement between Google and the Alliance de la presse d’information generale (APIG), a lobby group representing most major French publishers, was previously announced, but financial terms have not been announced.
This move upset many other French groups, who saw it as unfair and unclear. Publishers in other countries will scrutinize the agreement of France, the world’s highest profile under Google’s new program to compensate for news clips used in search results.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) and other non-group French news providers are not part of the agreement and are pushing ahead with various actions against Google.
The treaty follows France’s implementation of the first copyright rule recently enacted under EU law that creates “neighbor rights,” calling for major platforms. technology opens conversations with publishers seeking rewards for using news content.
In Australia, lawyers have drafted legislation that required Google and Facebook to pay publishers and broadcasters for content. Google has threatened to shut down its search engine in Australia if the country adopts such an approach, which the company calls “inoperable.” “
The French documents seen by Reuters include a framework agreement in which Google pays $ 22 million (approximately Rs. 160 crores) annually for three years to a group of 121 national and local French news publications. after signing individual licensing agreements with each.
The second document is a settlement agreement under which Google agrees to pay $ 10 million (approximately Rs. 72 crores) to the same body in exchange for the publishers ’commitment not to legislate on copyright claims for three year.
Publishers would promise an upcoming new product called the Google News Showcase that would allow publishers to save content and give limited access to paid stories.
Google declined to comment on the terms of the contract.
In January, Reuters news group, a division of Thomson Reuters Corp., struck a deal with Google to become the first global news provider for the Google News Showcase.
French rival Reuters, AFP, has upheld its complaint by a French trust watchdog against Google, an insider said. Last month, AFP CEO Fabrice Fries welcomed the deal between Google and APIG, but called on the tech company to extend those copyright deals to news organizations.
GETTING A GOOGLE PART
Google across the globe is under increasing pressure to pay for news content, as advertising and business revenue have plummeted with the rise of digital platforms.
In Spain and Germany, publishers have tried but failed to charge Google for displaying shares, or cookies. German publishers have lost a legal battle in 2019 for copyright worth 1 billion euros since 2013.
The text of the EU’s “neighbor rights” rule aimed to create a new steady income stream for news publishers.
In the United States, the news industry supports legislation that would allow it to negotiate with the major platforms without violating trust law. At Congress, lawyers recently released a report saying that major tech companies have hurt the news industry because they can “impose unilateral terms on publishers, such as revenue-sharing agreements. a-steach take-it-or-leave-it. “
Andrew MacLeod, chief executive of Postmedia Canada, said publishers there were monitoring talks in other parts of the world. “We look for a product for the growth and architecture of our future rather than relying on labels. ”
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
French publishers had little choice but to sign up to the deal, three sources close to the issue, citing pressure from shareholders.
The same sources said that some publishers were upset Google refused to provide access to data showing how much news it is generating.
“These vague agreements will not ensure that all news publishers are treated fairly, as the enumeration formula is not publicly disclosed,” the union for news publishers said on- Spiil ‘s independent lineup this week. “Google took advantage of our categories to advance its interests.”
Fees range from as much as $ 1.3 million (approximately Rs. 9.44 crores) for the daily French reference Le Monde to $ 13,741 (approximately Rs. 9.98 lakh) for local publisher La Voix de la Haute Marne, yes documents show. They did not specify how the amounts were calculated.
The main national dailies Le Monde, Le Figaro and Liberation and their counterparts were negotiating about 3 million euros ($ 3.6 million) (around Rs. 26.14 crores) per year in addition to the fee in the agreement, especially with agree in November to sell memberships through Google said, one source close to the deal.
Le Monde group leader Louis Dreyfus and Liberation leader Denis Olivennes declined to comment. Representatives for Le Figaro were not immediately available for comment.
APIG head Pierre Louette did not respond to comments seeking comment.
© Thomson Reuters 2021
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