London Book Fair 2016: Hachette CEO Presses Chinese Publishers, Blasts EU Copyright Proposals

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ActuaLitté

In his short keynote speech at the 2016 International Publishers Congress in London, Hachette CEO Arnaud Nourry opened on an optimistic note.

“Books have proven, again, their staying power in the face of the social, economic and technological transformations that have affected the world since books were invented 560 years ago,” he said, adding that publishers are the only media industry “to have successfully ridden the first digital wave.”

But Nourry also acknowledged “serious clouds on the horizon,” and “threats that will have to be dealt with.” First and foremost among those threats: what Nourry called the European Commission’s “senseless attack” on copyright.