The French Government is seeking a legal solution that would ensure publishers and authors are paid when a second-hand book is sold, the Ministry of Culture announced on Friday.
This legal development was proposed to publishers as a solution to the economic challenges posed by the second-hand book market during President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the Paris Book Festival.
The ministry stated that Minister Rachida Dati has appealed to the Council of State, the highest administrative court in France, to establish a "resale right for copyright" applicable to multiple resales of the same book.
Currently, the second-hand market entirely bypasses authors and publishers, resulting in lost revenue for them. The proposed change would require sellers of second-hand books to compensate them.
"The proceeds from this resale right would be paid to a collective management organisation to support creative work," the ministry said in a statement. However, the implementation date for this measure is yet to be determined.
"This satisfies us," said Vincent Montagne, president of the National Publishing Union, in an interview with AFP.
"France, just as it was a pioneer with the single book price law, can lead the way again," Montagne expressed.
France set a precedent in the book market by becoming the first country to pass a law enforcing a single price for new books in 1981, among other measures to ensure the sustainability of bookstores.
This law has since been adopted by several other countries.
