1993 - Term of Protection

The Directive established the authorship of the director of a film as a general principle and provided for a total harmonisation of the period of protection of authors’ rights and related rights – 70 years after the death of the author (for audiovisual works, after the death of the last survivor among the director, the author of the screenplay, the author of the dialogue and the composer of the original music, whether or not they are designated as co-authors) and 50 years after the event setting the time running for related rights. A 2011 Directive extended the term of protection for performers and sound recordings to 70 years and provided for accompanying measures to ensure that performers and not only producers benefit from the extension.

The legislative text: codified by 2006/116/EC, amended by 2011/77/EU.