The Price of Copyright for Actors

Anyway, I put this post together to address the misunderstanding. The first thing to understand is that Copyright and Usage Fees are closely intertwined, but they represent different aspects of intellectual property:

Copyright:
Grants the exclusive right to the owner (e.g. the performer) of a creative work (e.g., performance, book, song, image) to control how it’s used.
Covers things like making copies, distributing, publicly performing, adapting, and displaying the work.
Copyright protection arises automatically upon creation of the work and lasts for a specific period (varies by country).
Registration isn’t mandatory, but it offers certain advantages like easier enforcement.

Usage fees:
Are the price someone pays to the copyright owner (e.g. the Performer) for permission to use their work in a specific way.
This permission, known as a license, outlines the terms of use, such as:
Scope: What can be used
Duration: How long the usage is permitted
Territory: Where the usage is allowed (e.g., specific country)
Purpose: How the work can be used (e.g., personal project, commercial product)
Fees can be a one-time proportionate payment (the buy-out), royalties based on ongoing usage, or a combination. The EU copyright directive calls for the use of buyout contracts to be the exception.

Relationship between Copyright and Usage Fees:
Copyright grants the right to control usage, while usage fees are the financial compensation for using that right.
You cannot legally use a copyrighted work without permission, even if you found it online for free.
Most copyright owners don’t want their work used freely, so they set usage fees to:
Control how their work is used and ensure it aligns with their vision.
Get compensated for their creativity and effort invested in creating the work.
Make their work sustainable by generating revenue for future projects.

In essence, copyright protects the creator’s (e.g. the Performers) rights, while usage fees allow others to legally access and use those rights for a stipulated price.

Additional points:
Fair use is a legal doctrine that allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission for specific purposes like criticism, commentary, or education.

Copyright infringement occurs when someone uses copyrighted material without permission, leading to potential legal consequences and financial damages.

Permission must be sought and granted and usage fees clarified before any of your copyrighted material can be used.

I hope this clarifies the issue and is useful. Actors have the copyright on their performances just by virtue of being people (everybody has copyright) and by virtue of creating a performance. This copyright is protected by national and international law.

Usage Fees are the price of the licence to use the copyright, they are negotiated and not fixed, and they must be proportionate.

I hope all this is useful