Audiovisual production contract

An audiovisual production contract is the contract binding the authors of an audiovisual work to the producer, the natural or legal person who takes the initiative and responsibility for making the work. It is governed by Articles L. 132-23 to L. 132-30 of the French Intellectual Property Code, which establish in the producer’s favour a presumption of assignment of the exclusive exploitation rights, as the counterpart of the financial risk the producer assumes.

The presumption of assignment

Article L. 132-24 IPC provides that the contract binding the producer to the authors of the audiovisual work, other than the author of the musical composition with or without words, entails, unless otherwise stipulated, the assignment to the producer of the exclusive rights to exploit the audiovisual work. The presumption is rebuttable and operates only between the parties to the contract, which requires the producer to contract with each of the presumed co-authors: director, screenwriter, adapter, author of the spoken text and author of the pre-existing work adapted. It extends neither to graphic and theatrical rights, nor to moral rights, nor to the author’s rights over exploitations other than those of the audiovisual work itself. The composer retains his or her rights, which are most often administered by a collective management organisation.

Obligations of the producer

The contract sets a separate remuneration for each mode of exploitation, proportional to receipts under the general principle, and proportional to the price paid by the public where the public pays to receive a specific and identifiable work. The producer is bound to exploit the work in accordance with the customs of the profession and to render accounts at least once a year of the receipts from each mode of exploitation. The work is deemed completed when the final version has been established by common agreement between the director, or where applicable the co-authors, and the producer, and the authors’ moral rights may be exercised only over that completed work.

Pitfalls in practice

The presumption of assignment does not dispense with the formal requirements: the contract must be in writing and delimit the modes of exploitation, the territories and the duration, failing which the scope of the assignment will be disputed. Contracts concluded with technicians and performers fall under other regimes, performers enjoying a presumption of their own. The chain of title must be documented for every element incorporated, pre-existing music, archive footage, works of art visible on screen, on pain of blocking the distribution of the work. The public registers of cinematography and audiovisual works allow assignments to be made enforceable against third parties by registration.

Key points

The audiovisual production contract entails a presumption that exploitation rights are assigned to the producer, except for music and unless otherwise stipulated, in return for remuneration per mode of exploitation and an annual rendering of accounts. The presumption operates only in respect of the authors who signed. Before any financing or distribution, check the complete chain of contracts with each co-author and the registration of the assignments in the public register.

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This glossary entry is general in scope and does not constitute legal advice.

Dhenne Avocats is a patent litigation firm. Matters outside that field, such as trade marks, designs, copyright and IT contracts, are handled by practitioners the firm works with regularly, and by the firm itself when they arise in a patent dispute.

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