SAA - Society of Audiovisual Authors

Celebrating 15 years of the SAA!

The month began with our successful 15th anniversary event in Brussels. When so much work goes into organising an event, we may sometimes ask ourselves if it was worth it. This time, however, I can confidently say that it was, thanks to my fantastic team. We filled the room with over 100 guests. The panellists were all brilliant – the screenwriters and directors Teona Strugar Mitevska, Urša Menart, Cato Kusters, Jochen Greve, Alek Pietrzak and Bill Anderson; the CMO executives Barbara Hayes, Patrick Raude, Jana Vozárová and Jochem Donker. The moderator, Anna Gumbao, was energising, and Lisette Ma Neza's poetic conclusions were truly moving. The cupcakes were delicious, and the reception was full of warm-hearted conversations and joyful moments. Take a look at the photos and video from the event, as well as the beautiful illustration by Rocío Álvarez, which now sparkles as a sticker on the back of my phone cover!

To mark our anniversary, the EU Commissioner for Culture, Glenn Micallef, sent a video greeting in which he mentioned the recently adopted Culture Compass for Europe. He talked about how it aims to build partnership with the sector, defend artistic freedom, improve working conditions, and address GenAI - so it respects fair remuneration, cultural diversity and quality jobs. The Compass promises to take several initiatives, including a report on the State of Culture in the EU, an EU Artists Charter and an AI strategy for the cultural and creative sectors. Unfortunately, none of these actions are planned before 2027.

From an AI Code of Practice to another

The day after the SAA anniversary event and as soon as our biannual members’ meeting had finished, I closed my office door and connected to the online kick-off plenary meeting for the preparation of the Code of Practice on Transparency of AI generated content. We had previously actively participated in the Code of Practice for General Purpose AI Models’ working group related to copyright, and we are now continuing to represent the perspective of audiovisual authors' rights in a process where it would be otherwise lacking.

Skopje call for audiovisual authors’ rights in the Western Balkans

What started as a small gathering around a table in 2023 in Belgrade, now grew into a conference room filled with over 50 participants in Skopje, all invested in discussing and improving audiovisual authors' rights in Central and Eastern Europe. Screenwriters and directors' associations, collective management organisations and IP Offices from 17 countries were represented. 

Our colleague Kiril Gjozev, Secretary General of AZAS (the CMO for audiovisual authors in North Macedonia), was the perfect host. However, it was not the reason why the regional seminar took place in Skopje. AZAS has been waiting for seven years to start collecting and distributing royalties to the authors for the use of their works by retransmission operators. They are now turning to the European community and fellow CMOs for help. We therefore issued the 'Skopje call', which was signed by most participants. In addition, I was interviewed by the national TV, we met with the President of the Assembly of North Macedonia, Mr Afrim Gashi, and I wrote to the Prime Minister after the seminar. I truly hope that our collective efforts will make a difference. The situation in North Macedonia is particularly damaging for audiovisual authors, however, many countries in the region are struggling with getting the right legislation in place and making sure it works in practice. Hearing all the panellists reminded me of how important it is for the region to meet and for us - the European community - to learn and provide support.

The review season has started

In between all these events, the review process of two important directives for the SAA has started: the 2019/789 Directive on Retransmission (called the SatCab II directive by the copyright experts) and the 2018 Audiovisual Media Services Directive. The process started with the appointment by the EU Commission of consultants in charge of collecting data and conducting studies on the impact of the directives. We have therefore been contacted by the consultants to provide the SAA’s perspective on these directives. On the SatCab II Directive, the consultant presented to us an online survey that is now available for CMOs to complete, and we are encouraging the SAA members to participate. For the AVMSD, there are several consultation tools in place: a call for evidence was recently published and we will have an interview with the consultant shortly. We are therefore preparing our arguments, in consultation with our members. Next year, the 2019 Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market will also enter the review season.

Audiovisual authors' study, on the WIPO agenda, again

Next week, I am going to Geneva for the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights. As some of you may recall, the SAA have long advocated for a WIPO study on audiovisual authors' rights. To cut a long story short, the initial proposal by the Côte d'Ivoire delegation was not adopted at the last session in April, as some delegations were reluctant to include performers at a later stage. For this session, there are now two proposals on the table for consideration, one for audiovisual authors and another one for performers. We are trying to make sure that the authors study is taken forward. Michele Woods, Director of the WIPO Copyright Law Division welcomed the participants to our regional seminar in Skopje and assured the audience that audiovisual authors' rights were a key issue for WIPO and that conducting a study was an important first step. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll have some good news to report in my next digest!

Until my December digest, stay healthy and warm during these cold winter days!

Best regards,

Cécile