Lights and action on authors’ royalties
Screenwriters and directors from around the world share their experiences and call for action on royalties.
Acclaimed screenwriters and directors from four continents have come together to highlight the lack of fair rights for audiovisual authors and support action to guarantee their right to earn royalties.
Five prominent audiovisual authors – Olatz ARROYO, Kiyoshi KUROSAWA, Esther MORALES, Cheick OUMAR SISSOKO and Jan SARDI – shared their personal experiences about why receiving royalties for the exploitation of their works is essential to their lives. Yet this right is denied to audiovisual creators in all but a few countries.
The creators were joined by legal experts at the event, jointly organized by the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC), the Society of Audiovisual Authors (SAA), and Writers & Directors Worldwide (W&DW).
Cécile DESPRINGRE (Executive Director, SAA), Yves NILLY (Chair, W&DW) and Cristina PERPIÑÁ-ROBERT NAVARRO (Director of Legal Affairs, CISAC) set out how legislators can act to improve the situation. They called for a legal environment that efficiently protects and remunerate creators for the exploitation of their works. This will stimulate the creation of original quality content that can compete on a more and more globalized market.
The experts highlighted two case studies of the situation Spain and Italy demonstrate that, far from being an obstacle, legal recognition of remuneration rights to audiovisual authors, with collective management, helps support industry growth.