Google announced on Wednesday that it had signed a series of licensing agreements with Italian media, paving the way for the remuneration of press publishers under neighboring law, established by a European directive two years ago and comparable to the law of author.
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These agreements will give Italian press publishers access to Google News Showcase, a new program announced last year by Google through which it pays media outlets for a selection of enriched content.
“Signed on an individual basis, these agreements represent an important step in the relationship of Google with the Italian publishers, by remunerating the publishers” within the framework of Google News Showcase, explained the giant of the American net in a press release.
Google News Showcase “will be available in Italy in the coming months,” the group said.
“These agreements represent an important step forward and confirm Google’s commitment to Italian publishers,” said Fabio Vaccarono, CEO of Google Italy.
Among the signatories of these agreements are RCS MediaGroup, Il Sole 24 Ore, Gruppo Monrif, Caltagirone Editore, Il Fatto Quotidiano, Libero, Il Foglio, Il Giornale, Il Tempo, Ciaopeople, Edinet, Gruppo Corriere, Citynews and Varese web.
“The remuneration of information, including the rights related to the distribution of digital content, is a front on which our publishing group is engaged in the front line”, commented Giuseppe Cerbone, head of the leading economic newspaper Il Sole. 24 Ore.
Urbano Cairo, CEO of RCS MediaGroup, declared himself “happy to have concluded this agreement which, by also settling the issue of neighboring rights, recognizes the importance of the quality of information (..) of our titles “. Among the group’s dailies are Corriere della Sera and Gazzetta dello Sport.
Neighboring rights provide for remuneration for the content of press publishers (photos and videos in particular) used by online platforms.
In January, Google had already concluded in France a framework agreement on this thorny issue with the Alliance of the general information press (Apig), which represents the national and regional French dailies, after turbulent negotiations.
Google initially refused to pay the French press, triggering a standoff with the sector.
Under pressure, Google also negotiated in February deals worth millions of dollars with Australia’s two main news groups, News Corp. by Rupert Murdoch and Nine Entertainment.
Australia’s parliament has passed legislation to force tech giants to pay media outlets in exchange for their news content.