Ownership of Rights in Audiovisual Productions

Book excerpt: In a single generation audiovisual production technology has made two enormous leaps: interactivity and digital exploitation. Any law that deals with satellite transmission must take into account the ownership rights in audiovisual productions, and maintain a clear perspective on how existing laws in the field have been adapted - and will continue to be adapted - to protect authors. Who owns the digital exploitation rights in the audiovisual work? Who is entitled to collect remunerations collected from private copying? How do moral rights affect the licensing of rights in audiovisual works? These are some of the most contentious questions dealt with in this book. The book provides a comprehensive comparative framework for analysis of the regulation of ownership of rights in audiovisual productions in Europe. It is the first presentation that examines these issues in the light of revised Nordic copyright laws and the respective national regulations of Germany, France, Belgium, the United Kingdom and the United States. In addition, the book explains in detail how international and European Community regulations affect rights owners in audiovisual productions. The audiovisual sector is also an area where the differences between the civil law systems of author's rights and common law based copyright systems are particularly pronounced. This book clarifies some of the common misunderstandings encountered in this respect.