Press Release Strasbourg, 11 March 2009 Creativity Comes at a Price – The Role of Collecting Societies The Observatory announces a new IRIS Special report		More information on this IRIS Special
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Hollywood can be a dream factory where video store clerks can become scriptwriters and sell their first script for 50,000$. In Europe, however, the status and recognition of authorship for creative talent such as scriptwriters differ from country to country and a budding Tarantino in Germany will find that his legal status is very different from, say, his French counterpart. Looking after the interests of such creative talent in Europe are the various collecting societies which serve as financial ‘guardian angels’, making sure that fair remuneration is paid to the likes of script writers, set designers, cameramen and all the other professions involved in the making of a motion picture. Legal recognition coupled with economic blessings is a key issue for all creative contributors to audiovisual works and accordingly, the European Audiovisual Observatory has just published a timely new IRIS Special report entitled

This latest comparative legal study from the Strasbourg-based Observatory offers a country by country analysis of 12 European countries, focusing on the role of the collecting societies and their relationship with the rightsholders they represent.

Each chapter follows the same model, dealing first of all with the legal framework and provisions in each country which stipulate which rights may be attributed to whom. The respective rights and status of, for example, performing artists, choreographers, set designers, camera operators, directors and producers are examined in terms of copyright and authorship. The report points out that, for example, set designers are considered by law as co-authors of a film in Austria and Switzerland, but this is not the case in Spain or Poland.

For each country, the focus then turns to practice in rights management, looking at the way in which the various collecting societies manage the rights of those they represent from a practical point of view. The mechanisms of the transfer of rights to collecting agencies are examined in detail, both in situations where individual contracts are the order of the day as well as in cases where collective agreements form the basis for the transfer of rights. Of particular interest and pertinence is the information given on the management of rights for works distributed on line.

The institutional framework of collecting societies is then analysed for each country featured in this report. The legal texts which govern their existence and functioning are examined in each case, as well as the organisational structure of collecting societies – in most cases associations or private entities or indeed co-operatives (as is the case in Switzerland). The actual services offered by the various collecting societies are also described, ranging from the distribution of blank cassette fees in Austria to sending enforcement officers to unlicensed venues where music is being played in the UK. Side information on activities such as funding social benefits is also provided.

Each chapter concludes with a look at the practice of rights management from the perspective of the individual rightsholders. Decisive in this context is the notion of choice between the various societies in existence. In certain countries, specific collecting societies will compulsorily deal with certain areas of rights collection, whereas in Italy, for example, individual rightsholders do not have any choice between different collecting societies. In very practical terms, this study contains information on how remuneration is calculated in terms of the various percentages in current use in each respective country.

A new, finger on the pulse publication from the European Audiovisual Observatory which looks at the ‘guardian angels’ of the rightsholders – the collecting societies.

IRIS Special, 2009 Edition,
"Creativity Comes at a Price – The Role of Collecting Societies", 95 €
ISBN 978-92-871-6591-6
European Audiovisual Observatory, Strasbourg, 2009.

For further press information and a free press copy for review, please contact:
Alison Hindhaugh, Information and Press Officer, tel.: +33 (0) 3 88 14 44 10 -E-mail: alison.hindhaugh@coe.int

To order a copy of this IRIS Special or take out a subscription to IRIS monthly legal review with its IRIS plus supplement, click here or contact: markus.booms@coe.int

For further information on the content of our IRIS products, please contact our legal department:
susanne.nikoltchev@coe.int - francisco.cabrera@coe.int

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The European Audiovisual Observatory Set up in December 1992, the European Audiovisual Observatory's mission is to gather and distribute information on the audiovisual industry in Europe. The Observatory is a European public service body comprised of 37 member states and the European Union, represented by the European Commission. It operates within the legal framework of the Council of Europe and works alongside a number of partner and professional organisations from within the industry and with a network of correspondents. In addition to contributions to conferences, other major activities are the publication of a Yearbook, newsletters and reports, the compilation and management of databases and the provision of information through the Observatory’s Internet site (http://www.obs.coe.int).