On June 4th, COMMUNIA hosted the webinar “Cashing in Twice – The Extension of Resale Right in the Second-Hand Book Market in France.” The event brought together a group of experts to discuss the problematic implications of a French legislative proposal for taxing the resale of second-hand books. A video recording of the event is now available through Vimeo.
Background
In April 2025, the French Government announced a legislative proposal drafted by the Syndicat National de l’Édition (publisher association in France). The goal of the proposal is to extend copyright through the resale right on the second-hand book market. This measure would restrict the availability of knowledge and culture for economically disadvantaged readers who rely on cheaper, used books the most. While the state’s goal is to generate income for authors and publishers, it is unclear how much money would actually flow into the pockets of the authors.
Well-intentioned, but ultimately misguided
Senators Laure Darcos and Sylvie Robert have proposed a new law, which would be implemented within the intellectual property law (Code de la Propriété Intellectuelle). The proposal includes the long-awaited implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty to promote access to knowledge and information for people with print disabilities. Commendably, the proposal also includes measures intended to achieve a fairer remuneration of authors. The striking imbalance of income between authors and the publishing industry as well as the lack of bargaining power and institutional representation of authors have been well-known issues since the publication of the Racine Report in 2020.
A publisher ploy to cash in twice?
While it would be important to improve the remuneration of authors, unfortunately, it seems that the law will be used by the publishing industry as a last-minute ploy to direct more income into their own pockets.
After confirmation with the French Senate, the law carried by Darcos and Robert may be discussed early July, outside of the usual senatorial calendar. COMMUNIA obtained access to unpublished documents commissioned and drafted by the Syndicat National de l’Édition, namely a study of the impacts of the extension of resale rights for the second hand book market. Importantly, this study also contains potential amendments to modify the proposal by Darcos and Robert. These amendments would propose a copyright extension on the second-hand book market in France with the aim of generating more income for the publishing industry. Problematically, the document also states that it would be unnecessary to trigger the EU compliance mechanism, suggesting that these amendments will not impact Union law.
The salon
For the salon, moderated by COMMUNIA member Camille Françoise, we brought together three experts to discuss the unpublished documents drafted by the Syndicat National de l’Édition:
- Grégory Miura (Conservateur des bibliothèques and Deputy Director of the Scientific Interest Group, CollEx-Persée)
- Bernd Justin Jütte (Professor, University College Dublin)
- Peter Mezei (Professor, University of Szeged)
The speakers discussed the legal and socio-economic challenges of the proposed amendments as well as the tension with cultural and research practices. They identified three points of particular concern:
The impact on access to information, on the right to research and early literacy for youth
One of the key concerns raised was regarding access to information and the right to research. The secondhand book market is notably allowing individuals with limited means to access books and other printed materials for a fraction of the initial price. Less affluent readers would therefore be disproportionately affected by such a proposal. Beyond that, many researchers often work with specialised books that are out of commerce and only available on the second-hand book market. Finally, literature for children would also be subject to this proposal despite the importance of early book literacy for developing reading habits and facilitating school education. The financial impact of the extension of a resale right to the second hand book market would be considerable, and may be very detrimental at a time where people are already reading less and less as the usage of other mediums is increasing.
A lack of fairness and proportionality
Even considering a division of the benefits on the basis of a fifty-fifty split between the publishing industry and the authors, the number of authors has increased significantly, while the number of publishers remains limited. As such, the impact of the shares for authors will remain considerably small while for publishing the shares will be much higher, exacerbating the existing unfairness of the distribution of income in the book market and raising questions about the justification for the proposed legislation.
Exhaustion and other legal issues
A central issue raised by the experts relates to the compatibility of the proposed measure with key principles of European Union law, in particular exhaustion and the implications for cross-border trade. While the proposal asserts that it does not interfere with EU law, it is nonetheless directed at national and international resellers, raising concrete questions regarding its practical enforcement. How would such a mechanism be implemented at the national level in cases involving cross-border activities where there would be repercussions for other Member States?
The proposal raises significant concerns with regard to the principle of exhaustion, which constitutes a fundamental element of the internal market: Once a work has been lawfully placed on the market within the European Economic Area, the right holder may no longer oppose its resale. In this context, the introduction of a remuneration right tied to resale appears difficult to reconcile with the existing legal doctrine.
Finally, the scope of the proposed amendment is also questionable. Resale rights have thus far applied exclusively to visual artworks and are governed by lex specialis. Extending such rights to literary works would mark a departure from this narrowly defined legal regime. This raises broader questions about the consequences for other media such as CDs, DVDs, or vinyl records. Would rightholders in these sectors also be entitled to claim income from the secondary market?
What should happen instead?
The speakers concluded that the proposal is highly problematic and potentially discriminatory. Its actual benefits for authors were questioned, and it may ultimately entirely fail to achieve its goals.
Instead of working with the proposal as is, the speakers advocated for a more holistic approach to supporting authors, including re-evaluating publishing models and addressing issues in the primary book market, as is also underlined in the Racine Report.
