Film groups demand rights put at ‘heart’ of EU copyright reform

Two groups representing film directors and screen writers have called on the European Commission to introduce a provision in its Digital Single Market strategy that ensures they can fairly profit from the commercialisation of films they work on.

Both the Society of Audiovisual Authors (SAA) and Writers & Directors Worldwide issued statements on Wednesday (June 3) arguing that film makers’ rights should be at the “heart” of copyright reforms.

The groups’ chief demand is that the EU adopts a similar law to the one in Chile that gives directors and screenplay writers an “unwaivable right to remuneration” when their films are commercially exploited, regardless of the platform it is distributed on.

In March, the SAA published a White Paper that put forward the idea of giving such a right to European film makers.

Yves Nilly, chair of Writers & Directors Worldwide, said: “Directors and screen writers across the planet struggle to enforce their rights and secure fair remuneration for their creative work.

“Europe is the birthplace of authors’ rights and strong copyright reform that guarantees authors are connected to the exploitation of their work online would send a strong signal and hopefully inspire action elsewhere,” he added.

Cécile Despringre, executive director of SAA, said reforms also need to address protection for artists’ works online.

She said: “Screen writers and directors can see the opportunities for the online market to help their films reach new audiences. All they ask is to be fairly remunerated when their works are used and seen.”

The statements were issued at the Writers & Directors Worldwide executive committee meeting, which took place in Brussels on Wednesday.

The commission introduced the Digital Single Market strategy last week in an attempt to streamline business practices across the EU.

One of its measures includes an attempt to harmonise the length of copyright protection in each member state.

In January, Julia Reda, a member of the European Parliament for the Pirate Party, put forward a series of amendments to modernise EU copyright law. She argued that the length of copyright protection in each member state should be ‘life plus 50 years’.

In the UK, the length of protection is currently ‘life plus 70 years’.

The European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee is due to vote on Reda’s proposals on June 16.