French publishers represented by the Alliance de la Presse d'Information Générale (APIG) have signed an agreement with Google France relating to the use of their online press stories.

The deal covers remuneration under French law and seeks to address EU copyright laws.

The approximate value of the deal and how much each publisher will get per article has not been revealed.

The pair would only say that “remuneration is based on criteria such as contribution to political and general information, the daily volume of publications or the monthly internet audience”.

Google has previously refused to pay for extracts of stories carried on its services, claiming sites benefit through increased traffic.

Its French cave in will now be eagerly followed by publishers across the world.

The pair said: “Individual licensing agreements will cover neighbouring rights and will open access to [Google's] News Showcase, a new press publications licensing programme recently launched that will give readers access to rich content.”

Pierre Louette, chief executive of the Les Echos - Le Parisien Group and president of APIG, said: “After long months of negotiations this agreement is an important step, which marks the effective recognition of the neighbouring right of press publishers and the start of their remuneration by digital platforms for the use of their online publications.”

Sébastien Missoffe, managing director of Google France, said: “This agreement is a major step for Google. It confirms our commitment to press editors within the framework of French law on neighbouring rights.

“It opens up new perspectives for our partners and we are happy to contribute to their development in the digital age and support journalism.”

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