Fair remuneration for creators “crucial” states European Parliament resolution

SAA welcomes the European Parliament’s adoption of Pavel Svoboda’s report on intellectual property rights.

The report covers a number of key areas for future discussions on copyright and the digital single market.  These include positive provisions calling for enforcement of IPRs to focus on commercial-scale infringements through the ‘follow-the –money’ approach, developing new business models and raising awareness of legal services for copyrighted works.  The SAA particularly welcomes the statement:

“Stresses that, at times of financial crisis, when major cuts are being made in financial support for the cultural sector, IPR are often among individual creators’ main sources of income; stresses, therefore, that ensuring fair remuneration for creators should be a crucial element of the EU action plan;”

The European Commission’s Digital Single Market Strategy clearly identified remuneration as an area of work.

Cécile Despringre, SAA’s Executive Director, said: “The report rightly identifies an author’s intellectual property rights as their main source of revenue between projects.  It is essential that any future legislative work on copyright ensures that authors are fairly remunerated for the exploitation of their works.”

Contact: James Taylor, j.taylor@saa-authors.eu, +32 495 734 290

About SAA

Founded in 2010, the Society of Audiovisual Authors (SAA) is the association of European collective management organisations representing audiovisual authors.  Its 26 members in 19 countries manage rights for over 120,000 film, television and multimedia European screenwriters and directors.

The organisation’s objectives are:

- to defend and strengthen the economic and moral rights of audiovisual authors;

- to secure fair remuneration for audiovisual authors for every use of their works.

- to develop, promote and facilitate the management of rights by member societies;

In addition to the 2nd edition of its White Paper on audiovisual authors’ rights and remuneration in Europe, SAA has also produced detailed documents on private copying compensation, royalty distribution rules and practices as well as a joint wish list with FERA and FSE for how Europe can help its screenwriters and directors help the European audiovisual sector thrive.