The French and German press publishers expressed their strong support for the European Commission’s proposal for the introduction of the press publisher’s right under European copyright law. They underlined that this is an important measure for the future development of the press.

The German and French newspaper publishers are committed to the following common goals:

– The recognition of a comprehensive and universal European press publisher’s right in line with the copyright protection already applied to the film, music and audio-visual sectors.

– Protection of press publications against exploitation by third parties who profit from using their content without paying compensation to the publishers.

– Against the background of rapidly-developing digital dissemination, the creation of a level playing field between press companies and international technology corporations and device manufacturers.

The presidents of both publisher associations point out that the European Commission-proposed press publisher’s right would have no impact on the free access to and free dissemination of press content. As an extension of journalists’ copyright, the press publisher’s right would strengthen the economic framework conditions which are indispensable for the preservation of high-quality, independent journalism.

Francis Morel: “The value of the press resides in its content. Its strength derives from the fact that through its media – whether on paper or in digital form – it reaches a wide circle of the public. It simply cannot allow other players to exploit the content that they have financed and created. “

Mathias Döpfner: "The future of journalism is digital. This necessitates not only investment but also a protected legal position – the press publisher’s right."

(http://www.bdzv.de – http://www.spqn.fr)