Producers defend their rights
German producers are protesting, with support from their European colleagues, following a request from German television channels that producers jointly grant Free TV rights and VOD rights, and that the latter be granted without territorial limitations or any additional financial return for the producer.
If this practice became widespread, the release of films on television and on broadcasters’ websites would be simultaneous and it would be impossible to distribute the films outside of Germany.
This conviction is backed up by the press releases made by the European Producers Club and the European Producers Associations Alliance (EPAA), who both support the German producers and any other European producers who refuse to sign agreements with German broadcasters as a protest against the requested merging of two different types of rights.
According to these two organisations, all rights are sold separately and individual sales cannot include two licences. Moreover, sales must involve a specific territory.
Each release must be handled separately and bring financial return for the producer. For European producers, VOD rights must remain the property of the producer and can only be sold with their agreement at a price determined by the market.
(Translated from French)
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