AI Training on Copyrighted Works

Vincent Montagne, president of the French Publishers’ Union (SNE), signaled escalating legal confrontation over AI training practices. He cited ongoing negotiations in the United States with Anthropic, where damages exceed $1.5 billion—a figure he called revealing of “undisputed infringements across hundreds of thousands of titles.”

France has taken its own offensive. The SNE filed suit against Meta alongside authors for “counterfeiting and unfair competition,” with Montagne pledging to pursue the case to conclusion. “The broader concern extends to mass-generated fake books flooding platforms,” he said. These objects possess no editorial value, generated in bulk through a few prompts by artificial intelligences themselves, fed by copyright-protected works, he said. However, publishers acknowledge that legitimate application.

During another reception by the group she leads, Catherine Lucet, CEO of Editis, stated that AI can enhance discoverability in saturated market, and enable productivity improvements. She hopes the technology will deliver fair compensation to authors and publishers for training catalogues, but she calls on professional bodies to ensure this outcome materializes.

Second-hand Sales Drain Without Recompense

More pressing for near-term revenue is the structuring of second-hand book commerce without author or publisher recompense. Montagne characterized this as being to the detriment of creation and editorial diversity, capturing value without recreating it. The second-hand book market could be represented between 15 percent and 20 percent of sales of books today in France, according to a study by la Sofia, published in 2024.

He demanded legislative action on a resale right for second-hand books. Such a mechanism exists elsewhere—the fixed book price, reprography rights, public lending rights, and private copying levies all represent historical precedent. Each was a balanced response in its era between access freedom and rights-holder compensation, Montagne said. That equilibrium must be preserved for editorial creation.

The French State Council’s opinion supports the concept. “Only political will is lacking,” Montagne noted, underscoring the urgency as physical resale networks expand.

Export Momentum and Rights Sales

Despite headwinds, French publishers report strength in rights sales—described by Antoine Gallimard, president of France Livre, as “the beating heart of French book exports.” Cinematic and audiovisual rights acquisitions accelerated notably.

France Livre expanded proximity programs. The Paris Book Market, established four years ago, “has emerged as essential” and shows “spectacular growth,” with the 2026 edition scheduled for June 4-5, with Holland as first guest of honor for the fair. Hybrid formats now serve distant professionals.

French State Support Under Pressure

French publishers’ export success rests partly on state machinery now facing budgetary contraction. The National Book Centre (CNL) funds translation (500 titles annually in both directions), supports approximately 100 francophone bookstores across 140 identified, and subsidizes co-editions for African and Asian markets.

Members of the French Publishers’ Syndicate at Frankfurter Buchmesse on their collective stand last month. Image: Publishing Perspectives, Eric Dupuy