In France there is now a double standard for piracy: it’s illegal for individuals to copy material without permission and share it freely online, but for some works the state can make a digital copy without permission and allow its sale for commercial gain. This looks like the plundering of individual property for private gain, which deprives writers of the rewards of their own labors and deprives the public of open access to orphan works.
Boldfaced emphasis added by me.
Hugo, Baudelaire, Nerval, and the rest rage from their graves.
Previously here:
France’s Writers Sold Down The River
France’s Book Grab: Worse Than Google Books
Mike Cane’s xBlog 
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