European Parliament Culture committee shows the way on audiovisual authors’ remuneration

We read the Culture committee amendments (1, 2) with delight as MEPs from different countries (from Spain to Poland and the UK to Greece), and groups (from ECR to the Greens via S&D and the EPP), had put pen to paper to propose an unwaivable right to remuneration for online exploitation.

Beyond the publishers’ right and the value gap, the right to remuneration is becoming a key issue in the copyright reform. This is obviously good news for European writers and directors who can finally hope with this right to obtain just and proportionate compensation when their works are exploited online.

IMCO and ITRE have now submitted their amendment and the next to do so is the leading committee, JURI, where MEPs will table their amendments on 12 April. Let’s hope that they will have the same ambition as those MEPs in the culture committee who have already spoken.

Last month SAA, FERA and FSE published a flyer underlining the 4 conditions that an unwaivable right needs to include for it work in practice: A remuneration right (of course!), unwaivable and inalienable, paid by the end distributor, collectively negotiated and enforced.

These are 4 cumulative and complementary conditions which guarantee the effectiveness of this right to remuneration: MEP’s must seize this opportunity to adopt this fair and modern measure, which will ensure that authors can receive remuneration today so that they can continue to create tomorrow. MEPs have begun, thousands of European writers and directors ask them to continue.

This may be the only opportunity to fix the situation of screenwriters and directors for another decade. As the audiovisual sector shifts online, authors must not to be left behind by the digital revolution, and should be associated and paid when their works are exploited online.

For further information , check out our video and infographic.