The Retail maintenance price for books and the European law

The law of the 10 August 1981 on a retail maintenance price for books, has been recognized in conformity with the Treaty of Rome by the European court in 1985 ; it is now widely-applied in France. In time of economic crisis, it has kept a steady book production. Such a law is positive in the sense that it keeps a balance between the various book diffusion networks, and above all it allows a special bookshop network to survive in front of the commercial circles. As the book is a specific product (economic as well as cultural), almost all the States of the Community (except Belgium) are applying the retail maintenance price system successfully. It is however necessary to set a frame for the book price up at the Community level. Only then the problem of imported books could be solved ; most of the European publishers are asking for such an action. One solution could come from a transnational system covering the European linguistic areas, which actually are the natural book sale areas. According suggestions have been submitted before the Commission.
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