Cinema: towards a “process of fair negotiation ” with streaming platforms?
As the Audiovisual Media Services (AVMS) and Copyright Directives are gradually being implemented in the Member States of the European Union, the Federation of European Film Directors (FERA) wishes to initiate a process of fair negotiation of their remuneration with VOD/SVOD platforms.
While streaming services attracted more than 45 million new subscribers in 2020 in Western Europe, a record 197 million subscriptions on the various VOD and SVODplatforms (Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime) are expected by 2025[1] .
European filmmakers are already calling on global broadcasters to commit to fair negotiation conditions regarding their remuneration.
Film and television directors generally receive incomes from different sources when working on an audiovisual project: remuneration for their directing work, for the transfer of their economic rights to the producer to allow the use of the artwork, and, in France specifically, an additional remuneration, proportional to the commercial success of the artwork.
The ongoing implementation of the main European directives regarding media (AVMSD Directive 2018/1808) and copyright (Directive 2019/790) regulation, should ensure fair and sustainable conditions for European audiovisual creation and the distribution of audiovisual artworks.
FERA therefore calls for transparency from the distributors, including online platforms. In accordance with article 19 of the Copyright Directive, FERA requires that these platforms provide verified audience figures to enable fair negotiations in order to assess the value of the rights and remuneration models at stake.
This will allow the parties to define fair and proportionate remuneration models, taking into account the transfer of copyrights and a fair estimate of the proportionate remuneration, based the success and the audience of the artwork.
Our Law Firm UGGC and its team of lawyers specialized in audiovisual law are at your disposal to assist you in the protection of your legal and economic interests.
By IP/IT team of UGGC Law Firm
Source : FERA
[1] Digital TV Research Report