The report of the mediator of the book, commissioned by the Minister of Culture, said that only publishers can set the price of digital books. Amazon, but also other French players will have to put their commercial offers in accordance with the law.
Offer Unlimited Amazon Kindle is legal in France? No, settled the Ministry of Culture on the basis of the report submitted on February 9 by the mediator of the book, Laurence Engel. The latter had been mandated by Fleur Pellerin late December to determine whether the offers unlimited subscription in the field of digital books respected the French legislative framework. Launched in mid-December in France, Kindle Unlimited crystallized the discontent of the publishing world, which in the vast majority refused to participate in the commercial provision to the same music streaming.
9,99 per month, the player can play as many books as he wants on his reading lamp, tablet, smartphone or computer in a catalog of 700,000 titles, including 20,000 in French. What to ask about the value of the book, the remuneration of authors, but also the role of the editor, who has not the ability to set its price. Yet it is precisely on this issue rests the report of the mediator. He recalled that under French law, is the editor, and he alone, which determines the price of books, either in-store, online or in dematerialized format. But Kindle Unlimited, but other offerings developed by smaller players do not respect the rule of the game.
The mediator does not condemn the book provided the subscription offers. She emphasizes that this method of marketing is legal according to the law on the book price. But publishers must have hands on tariffs. Laurence Engel cites several examples to set up a subscription plan legally:
● A subscription offer launched by a single editor. This is particularly relevant for the type of literature called (mystery, science fiction, fantasy, sentimental …).
● A system of credits to spend. The monthly subscription allows the provision reader an account, for example, 20 credits for 10 euros, allowing him to see a limited number of books. For their part, publishers set the price of their digital books, which are translated into “credits” (one, two, three, four … credits per pound).
● A system of “bouquets “. Each publisher sets the price of a subscription of books searchable catalog. Several “clusters” are then offered to the readers, the price is the sum of each catalog. This principle is similar to pay TV bouquets available via satellite or ADSL.
After the presentation of the report, a mediation period will open. The mediator book now has a month to discuss with the different operators offering subscriptions (Amazon, but also Izneo, YouScribe, YouBoox …) to help them update their offers. Once this period has passed mediation, operators have three months to come into compliance with the law.
In the case of Kindle Unlimited, the Ministry of Culture said that the self-published books, which form the majority of its offer French as well as books from foreign publishers are not affected by this legal framework. But Amazon will have to review its offer for all the works from French publishers.
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