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Lending right is still
a topical question in french libraries and professionnal associations.
The european directive on lending and rental rights (november 1992) is
to harmonise the European right to all european countries , and protect
authors rights in the use of their works. This directive gives the authors
the exclusive right to allow or not the lending of their books, and the
right to be paid for it. It also gives the members of the Eupopean Union
the opportunity to allow for exceptions in some kinds of establishments
(article 5).
The exclusive right
of the authors to allow the lending is already implemented into the french
law concerning the intellectual property (1957), however nothing is paid
to the authors for the lending to the public.
Since 1995, publishers
first, then some authors corporations, are lobbying to apply a tax based
on lendings in libraries, which would be paid by users, arguing that more
and more numerous lendings in libraries do wrong to authors rights. They
claim a tax of 1 ecu per lending. Library community is strongly opposed
to this idea and rely on guiding principles : it is the duty of libraries
to provide free access to information and culture to all users, libraries
are not opposed to the authors interests, they buy , display and conserve
their works.
In 1999, several meeting were organized by the ministry of culture with
the different professionnal sectors : authors, publishers, librarians.
The discussions were hard, the positions extremely different.
Now the atmosphere seems better, and there is more willingness to try
to understand the different positions.
We reach an agreement
on two main points :
-Authors have to receive a fair remuneration.
-The amount would not be based on the lendings, but on library acquisitions
or on users number.
But several questions are still in heavy discussion :
-Who has to pay ? Users, local authorities, or state ?
-How much ? What's a fair remuneration ?
-How will the amounts be shared ?
Librarians are strongly opposed to a "user tax" or to lending
rights paid on libraries or local authorities budgets.They think that
the state has mainly to assume this question, by means of the CNL (National
Book Center).
The Ministry of Culture must end the debate and set out proposals to be
discussed with the representatives of local authorities. The lending right
must be included in the Library Act which should be presented in Parliament
in the coming months.
Therefore, library community has to lobby and convince of the importance
of preserving free access to culture and reading for all.
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