I have been told that certain producers propose contracts negotiated directly with the authors. What type of contracts are they and what is the attitude of societies of authors to them?
There are two cases, depending on the situation of the author: • either he is not a member of a society of authors • or he has joined one. In the first case, the author alone decides on his rights, negotiating the terms of the contract with the producer. In the second case, he has handed over exclusive control of his rights to his society of authors. This means granting the society responsibility for authorizing reproductions and broadcasts of the author’s works, for receiving payment of rights and for distributing them to the author. As this is an exclusive agreement, only societies of authors can administer these rights. The author thus bars himself from issuing authorizations to producers or broadcasters, whether for existing works or new works commissioned. In practice, as a multimedia program is a complex work requiring contributions from numerous authors (as is also the case in television), the need for a commission contract is essential. The contract is concluded between the aut
