French
newspapers had signed an agreement with the online giant Google which aimed at
opening their paths to digital copyright payments after several months of
intense negotiations, said the partners on Thursday. The pact signed with the APIG
alliance of French dailies involves “neighbouring rights,” which call
for payment for showing news content with internet searches, a joint statement
said.

The statement also mentioned that the agreement lays a framework for the
online giant to negotiate with newspapers in terms of their individual license
agreements related to the payments. They will allow papers to their new News Showcase
programme, which pay its publishers for a selection of enriched content, reported
AFP.

Payments will be calculated individually and will be based on parameters
such as the amount of information published and internet viewing figures.

APIG head Pierre Louette informed that the deal totals to the
“effective recognition of neighbouring rights for the press and the start
of their remuneration by digital platforms for the use of their publications
online.” Google France chief Sebastien Missoffe called the deal an evidence
of a “commitment” that opens up “new perspectives.”

Also read: ‘Does Kamala Harris have children?’ Indians Google before swearing-in ceremony

News organisations who are grappling with reducing print subscriptions
have long seethed at Google’s failure to give them a cut of the millions it
makes from ads displayed alongside news search results while the Covid-19
crisis has also put the sales further down, reported AFP.

A Paris appeals court ruled that the Google had to continue to negotiate
with French news publishers over a new European law on neighbouring rights in
October.

France was the first country in the European Union to approve the law
but Google had initially refused to negotiate by saying that the media
organisations already benefit by getting millions of visits to their websites.