The agreements have resulted in
distribution of more than $310 million over the past two decades to directors
and writers, according to the unions.
Kate Bedingfield, a spokeswoman
for the MPAA, confirmed that the agreements have been extended until the end of
2017. The guilds had no immediate comment.
The agreements, which were set to
expire on Dec. 31, cover funds collected outside the U.S. to compensate writers
and directors. The DGA has paid out $160 million of those funds to to
directors, according to its web site; the WGA West said in July in its annual
report to members that it had paid out $151.7 million since 1993.
The foreign levies for U.S.
creatives began to flow after the U.S. agreement in 1989 to terms of the Berne
Convention, which establishes the right of authorship for individuals who
create works of art. Copyright laws in European countries recognize directors
and writers as “authors” of motion pictures; in the U.S., employees transfer
the copyright to employers as part of employment agreements.
The MPAA agreements provide that
the foreign funds, which are through obtained through various collecting
societies, are distributed to the guilds and to the producers.
The DGA was sued in 2006 over
alleged mishandling distribution of the foreign levies and reached a settlement
in 2008.
The WGA was sued in 2005 by
William Richert (“Winter Kills”), which alleged that the guild had not properly
handled the foreign funds due scribes as compensation for reuse. A consent
decree, signed in June 2010, included an agreement by the WGA to use its “best
efforts” to pay all foreign funds within three years.
Bedingfield also said Monday that
SAG-AFTRA’s foreign levies
agreement also expires at the end of 2017.
SAG was sued over the foreign
levies program in 2007 by “Leave It to Beaver” actor Ken Osmond. That suit was
settled in 2011.
According to the SAG-AFTRA web
site, the union has collected $27 million in foreign funds and distributed
$16.7 million of those since 1997, as of April, 2013.
In May, 2013, SAG-AFTRA was sued
by former SAG-AFTRA president Ed Asner and 15 other plaintiffs over alleged
mishandling of $132 million in residuals and foreign royalties. A federal judge
dismissed the suit in January, 2014, but indicated that the plaintiffs
might be able to re-visit the issue since the factual situation was still
developing.
News of the extension of the DGA
and WGA agreements was first reported by Deadline.com.