SAA - Society of Audiovisual Authors

But firstly, a warm welcome to Cato Kusters! Cato is our newest - and youngest - SAA Patron, from Belgium. Her debut feature 'Julian' had its world premiere at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival and will open the Film Fest Gent next week. We are delighted that she will join our 15th anniversary conference on 4 November as one of our panellists.

European Parliament’s draft report on Copyright and Generative AI

On 12 September, a total of 370 amendments were tabled on the report on Copyright and Generative AI drafted by MEP Axel Voss in the Legal Affairs committee. This volume illustrates the divided opinions on the topic. I have spent many hours drafting and discussing our comments for the rapporteur and other MEPs in September. We had indeed several occasions to meet: Mr Voss organised a stakeholders’ roundtable on 1^st September and he participated with other MEPs in an EFAD breakfast on 10 September. Ms Riehl, chair of the Culture committee, met with authors and performers’ organisations on 3 September, etc.

During these exchanges with MEPs, I highlighted our key concerns and proposed the establishment of a high-level expert group on AI training and copyright. This was recommended by Prof. Lucchi in his study, commissioned by the Legal Affairs committee. Such a group would facilitate a much-needed dialogue between generative AI developers and the cultural and creative sector. The aim would be to deliver recommendations, including 'policy options for a pilot statutory remuneration scheme or extended collective licensing model for AI training uses'. The French government has already initiated a similar dialogue between AI developers and the cultural and media sectors. Additionally, I have valued the role of collective management organisations in licensing large-scale uses of copyrighted works. On that note, I recommend my colleague Annica's blog post, "CMOs challenges in the AI era", which discusses the results of the Polish EU Presidency's survey of CMOs. I am still working my way through the 370 amendments, but I am glad to see that some of our proposals were included. 

Sarajevo Film Festival

In August, I participated in the Sarajevo Film Festival for the first time, at the invitation of Cinelink for a panel on Artificial Intelligence, Authors’ Rights and the Needs of Europe’s Neighbours. In my contribution to the discussion, I highlighted the SAA's assessment of the Code of Practice for GPAI models. I pointed out that it does not create any concrete obligation to respect copyright, and that, as long as there is no transparency, licensing models cannot be developed. The Hollywood Reporter and Screen International quoted me in their write-ups about the panel.

I also had the opportunity to see several great films of the region, in particular two that I warmly recommend: 'DJ Ahmet', directed by Georgi M. Unkovski. It tells the story of a young boy from a remote village in North Macedonia who finds comfort and escape in music. ‘Sorella Di Clausura’ by Ivana Mladenović is a Romanian comedy about a woman who fell in love with a Balkan musician—after seeing him on television – and is trying to meet him on every occasion.

Securing EU budget for European film

Although we are not in the driving seat, we have joined forces with other European audiovisual organisations to put forward our recommendations on future EU funding for media and culture. In short, the EU Commission has proposed a new programme called 'AgoraEU' as part of its long-term budget. This will merge the current Creative Europe and the Democracy, Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV+) programme, for the period 2028-2034. While the Commission's proposal has a larger budget than before (€8.6 billion), we are concerned that the funding is no longer earmarked, meaning there is no guarantee that the audiovisual sector and European cinema will benefit as much as in the past. My colleague Annica and I met with a cabinet member of Commissioner Virkkunen, and it's clear that they want the flexibility to favour activities that contribute to competitiveness. Fair enough, but competitiveness should not be the only guiding principle. European cultural diversity has value in itself. The coalition of organisations also raised these points when meeting Ms Riehl, the chair of the Parliament's Culture committee. During a roundtable discussion about culture in the next EU budget, organised by the Parliament last week, the chair echoed our concerns. 

Supporting SAA members behind the scene

A big part of the SAA's work is about supporting our members within their respective national contexts. While this work is not visible from the outside, my colleague Luisiana and I provide legal analysis and supporting arguments to help members overcome their difficulties when enforcing authors' rights and collecting due remuneration. The SAA working groups also serve as a space for members to share information. In August, we organised a meeting of our working group on AI and copyright, and in September, we met online on private copying and on retransmission.

During the summer, we wrote to the Polish Minister of Culture in support of entrusting our member ZAPA with the collection of audiovisual private copying compensation. We also wrote to Albanian authorities after a decision of the National Copyright Council denying audiovisual authors any collectively managed royalties for the communication to the public of their works. While in Sarajevo, I followed up with the association of Filmmakers of Bosnia-Herzegovina who applied for the licence to administer retransmission royalties for audiovisual authors, which have not been distributed for more than eight years. Now, with other umbrella organisations, we are preparing a letter of support to the complaint our member Filmautor filled against Bulgarian authorities for failure to provide effective mechanisms to establish tariffs. These are examples of challenges to authors' rights, which is why they must be persistently defended. This is at the very core of SAA's mission.

Closing in on our upcoming events!

On 7 October, we will be in Strasbourg. First, our Board of Directors will meet, after which we will participate in the LUX Audience Award launch in the EU Parliament. Then, we are holding our own annual dinner with MEPs and European filmmakers, in partnership with the LUX Audience Award, FERA and FSE. This gives us the opportunity to discuss the most pressing issues facing audiovisual authors with policymakers. More about this in my next digest.  

We are also busy preparing for our 15th anniversary conference on ‘audiovisual authors’ rights in disruptive times’, on 4 November in Brussels. Take a look at the programme, as we have secured a fantastic line-up of speakers! Finally, on 18-19 November we will organise a regional seminar on audiovisual authors’ rights in Central and Eastern Europe in Skopje.  If you are interested in participating in any of our events, please email us!

Lastly, thanks to Paola Bellissens, who finished her internship with us at the end of July, and welcome Virginia Vinesi, who joined the team for her autumn internship. 

Warm regards,

Cécile