Rabat: The Minister of Youth, Culture, and Communication, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, announced on Thursday in Rabat the adoption of a new support scheme for press companies.

According to Agence Marocaine De Presse, during a press conference dedicated to presenting updates on press self-regulation and reviewing the overall situation of the sector, the Minister noted that his Department and the Ministry of Economy and Finance adopted a joint decision to return to the previous support formula, while allocating a larger budget for this purpose.

Bensaid attributed the delay in implementing this decision to the fact that some small and medium-sized enterprises had not followed the procedure, “unlike the larger companies that had already submitted their files.”

In the same context, the Minister announced the entry into force of a new legal provision granting journalists expanded rights concerning the moral rights over their articles, specifying that a budget of approximately 30 million dirhams has been allocated for
moral rights.

He stressed that press companies holding copyright will receive 30% of this amount, emphasizing that these sums do not constitute remuneration, but rather a “right” aimed at strengthening the socio-professional situation of journalists.

The Minister called on companies and journalists to join the Moroccan Office of Copyright and Related Rights in order to receive and benefit from these rights.