“I wrote my first feature film ‘Girl’ together with Lukas Dhont, 12 years ago. It took us three years of work for which I received €12,500. At the time, we both had second jobs to be able to pay our bills. The film started its career in Cannes. Thanks to my authors’ rights, I could develop my next project and afford a living. However, I’m one of the privileged ones compared to many colleagues who struggle in a precarious system.”  said Belgian screenwriter Angelo Tijssens. This real-life example set

While Generative AI is reshaping the audiovisual sector rapidly, the rules governing how authors' works are used have not kept pace. European screenwriters and directors are having their livelihoods threatened by AI models and systems trained on their works without authorisation, remuneration or transparency. The European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee has adopted a strong position on 28 January that will be put to a plenary vote on 10 March. The report by MEP Axel Voss, the rapporteur, calls for

What transpires from recent news about Meta’s use of a pirate website to train its AI model is certainly not good news for authors. Indeed, very disappointed but not surprised, the authors have entered 2025 with a further confirmation that protected works have been and will continue to be used without their authorisation. The news arrives at a crucial and turbulent time for the EU and its authors, for at least two reasons: the battle on interpretation of the text-and-data mining exception and the drafti

The Society of Audiovisual Authors (SAA) congratulates Poland on the implementation of the 2019 Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market and the Directive on Retransmission. After a long uphill battle, a historic milestone has finally been reached.

A brochure presenting the SAA and CMOs, aggregated collections and facts and figures on the audiovisual market. The brochure is accompanied by topic-specific cards with a brief background, some facts, and how Members of the European Parliament can help.

The SAA have sent a letter to Polish authorities about the draft law of 14 February 2024 implementation of the DSM Directive. The SAA raised its concern with regards to respect of the audiovisual authors’ remuneration for the on-demand/online uses of their works.

The SAA addresses the Polish Prime Minister and Minister of Culture, calling for support to the Polish model of statutory remuneration for audiovisual authors to be extended to on-demand usages. Such a reform wiould establish a level playing field and safeguard authors’ rights.

Extended Collective Licensing: How can it help audiovisual authors?

It has been more than a year since the deadline for the implementation of the Copyright Directive (2019/790/EU) and only 15 of the 27 Member States have finalised the transposition. Many Member States have disregarded the reasoning behind Article 18 on appropriate and proportionate remuneration for the license or transfer of exclusive rights, but Belgium, when implementing the Directive, seized the opportunity to reflect on the real needs of authors and performers.

Today is 1-year since the deadline passed for EU countries to implement the Directives on Copyright in the Digital Single Market and on Online Transmissions and Retransmissions. On 19 May 2022, the European Commission sent reasoned opinions to 13 Member States who have not notified their transposition measures of the first directive yet and to 10 Member States for the second directive. Some have delivered but many still lag behind.

During the pandemic lockdowns and quarantines, many of us expressed gratefulness for the 21st century technology that allowed us to watch films and series on our screens, escaping the worrying health crisis around us. However, few paid attention to the consequences of the domination of the streaming and on-demand services by US interests: while the audience gets more content, European authors are being stripped of their right to royalties.

The 31 January 2020 marks the day when the UK left the EU. I called up our UK members Barbara Hayes, Deputy Chief Executive of Authors’ Licensing & Collecting Society (ALCS) and Andy Harrower, CEO of Directors UK to hear from them how Brexit impacted their work and authors’ rights in the UK.