Earlier today two of the European Parliament committees, Culture and Education (CULT) and Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) voted for authors to have an unwaivable right to fair remuneration. This is important to fully support other measures that the EU Copyright Directive is aiming to introduce, which will give authors an effective system by which they may claim remuneration when the payment that they received is significantly disproportionate to the later success of their work. Making this right to remuneration unwaivable would significantly improve the position of authors and will prevent pressure on authors to give up remuneration rights in contract agreements. This is also an increasingly important right for authors as audiovisual works are increasingly enjoyed long after the creation through on-demand services.
A right to remuneration will be a fairer way of protection for authors in a field that sees them at a disadvantage at the contract negotiating table. A reliable structure to enforce the remuneration right will also ensure that better contracts and fair remuneration is not limited to authors who can risk taking their producers to court.
The IAF is happy to see this progress made in the EU Parliament and hopes that other committees will support the full adoption of this measure into the final version of the EU Copyright Directive.
The IAF has campaigned for fairer contracts for many years:
• See IAF’s 10 Principles for Fair Contracts
• IAF member Society of Authors’ (SoA) also have the C.R.E.A.T.O.R principles