After the opinion of the Council of State, which confirms that the introduction of copyright on the sale of second-hand books is not contrary to the text of the 2001 Copyright Directive, the Permanent Council of Writers and the French publishers association, the SNE, expect the Government and Parliament to take legislative or regulatory intervention up to the challenges for literary creation and the book sector. They believe this is a crucial issue for the future of the book in France, and will affect the sector’s capacity for renewal and the attractiveness of books to readers.

The Permanent Writers’ Council and the SNE have taken note of the advisory opinion given by the Council of State to the Government on a scheme for the remuneration of authors and publishers on the sale of second-hand books.

No contradiction with the Constitution or the 2001 Copyright Directive

The Council of State confirms that the introduction of such remuneration would not contravene the principle of equality before the law, the right to property, or any other right guaranteed by the Constitution.

The Council also notes that “Directive 2001/29/EC, taken to the letter, only aims at the exhaustion of the author’s right of control over the subsequent marketing of his work and not necessarily that of the possibility of receiving remuneration on that occasion”.

The Permanent Council of Writers and the SNE expressed surprise at the reference to a single judgment from the European Court of Justice from 1981, 20 years before the adoption of the Copyright Directive,and the finding that the rule of the exhaustion of rights “read in the light of the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union makes it in the way of creation of a national law mechanism”. They contend that the Council has not produced any subsequent decision of the Court, and that the presented case-law is out of date.

A firm political will must now be expressed

The Permanent Writers’ Council and the SNE are still waiting for a public policy measure that allows the development of the second-hand market not to be to the detriment of creative actors.

They recall that in their time, the introduction of the right of copying, the right to loan and then digital private copying responded to the same approach and the same need to preserve creation without hindering the development of new uses. Their implementations, as well as that of the 1981 law on the single price of books, have always been carried out by a strong political will in favor of regulations proportionate to market mechanisms threatening the major balances of the book sector.

They believe it is the Government’s responsibility to address the issue of second-hand books and to identify the legal instruments and the appropriate legislative or regulatory vehicles. The Permanent Writers’ Council and the SNE expressed their willingness to look at any draft scheme establishing fair remuneration for authors and publishers on the sale of second-hand books.

Edited from French original, published: https://www.sne.fr/actu/reaction-a-lavis-du-conseil-detat/