The American group Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, has entered into an agreement with a copyright society, the Civil Society of Multimedia Authors (Scam), to remunerate the authors of audiovisual works viewed on its platforms in France, in Belgium and Luxembourg, the two parties announced on Tuesday. This agreement concerns only “real works”, that is to say, for example, documentaries or reports, because works of fiction are not part of the repertoire managed by the Scam.
“Thanks to this agreement, users in France, Belgium and Luxembourg will be able to continue to view and share freely within their communities the audiovisual works of the Scam repertoire on the Meta platforms, and the authors of these works will be remunerated. accordingly,” Meta and the Scam said in a joint statement. Under this agreement, Meta has a license to works from the Scam’s repertoire on its platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram. Digital tools are used to identify the content concerned and know when and how it is shared, including whether it is excerpts and not the work in its entirety. The amount of the authors’ remuneration was not specified.
This agreement is “the first of its kind in the audiovisual sector in France, Belgium and Luxembourg, and it seems to me in Europe, signed following the directive on copyright”, commented the director general of the Scam, Hervé Rony, quoted in the press release. Adopted in the spring of 2019, the European directive on copyright is intended to adapt to the digital age legislation dating from 2001, when the major digital platforms did not yet exist or were taking their first steps. The agreement “constitutes a major step in the long-standing action that we carry out alongside players in the world of culture in favor of the promotion of audiovisual works and the protection of intellectual property”, declared the vice-president president of Southern Europe of Meta, Laurent Solly, also quoted in the press release. The Scam brings together a total of 49,000 authors (audiovisual, radio, literature, journalism, photography, etc.). It negotiates on their behalf, collects and distributes their royalties (more than 112 million euros in 2020).
