On Tuesday, 30 July, the SFP Board of Directors officially decided to set up a round table on royalties, which is a response to the expectations of individual creative communities applying to the SFP. This is the first step towards developing an industry agreement that takes into account the rapidly changing audiovisual market and the interests of all filmmakers involved.
The series of discussions, which are being held as a round table on royalties, will focus on updating the rules for the distribution of creative remuneration. The idea behind these talks is to reach an agreement between all groups of creators on the issues that cause the most concern.
‘I would like every interested group of creators to be heard during our round table meetings, so that everyone has the chance to express their expectations’, said Grzegorz Łoszewski, President of the Polish Filmmakers Association, about the purpose of these meetings.
The topics of the industry debate will be addressed during the planned meetings, including the following questions: Which professions should participate in the distribution of copyright royalties, and to what extent? Do the current rules need to be updated? How can the interests of such diverse groups of filmmakers be reconciled? The starting point for discussions within the industry can be the tables in force at SFP-ZAPA, which determine the proportions of the distribution of royalties between co-creators in individual genres of works, but it will be important to reach an agreement among the entitled parties themselves in this regard. The Council members have decided to have meetings with as open an approach as possible and to invite representatives of those professional groups to the discussions who have not been included in the distribution of royalties so far, but who, according to their representatives, make a creative contribution to the films.
All arrangements made between the groups of contributors participating in the round table discussions will form the basis for the SFP Allocation Committee to adopt appropriate changes in the tables of proportions between contributors. We will keep you updated on further details and dates of meetings in the round table on royalties.