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Become a member
The GAFTA is a global standard for third-party film and television licensing. It provides a uniform license agreement that producers can sell to broadcasters, distributors, investors and other partners. If you work in the film industry as a producer, director or editor, then chances are you have heard of the GAFTA (Global Licensing Administration). Most likely, you have heard of it from others rather than actually reading about it yourself. And if you’re anything like us, then after that initial Google search you probably realized how much there was to know about the organization itself and its various rules and regulations. The good news is that once you understand what the GAFTA https://fortiorlaw.com/news/gafta-arbitration/ is all about, working within its scope becomes much more manageable.
What is the GAFTA?
The GAFTA is a standard for third-party film and television licensing. It provides a uniform license agreement that producers can sell to broadcasters, distributors, investors and other partners. The GAFTA would allow a broadcaster to air his work without having to negotiate a separate rights agreement with each individual broadcaster. Instead, if a broadcaster wants to run your show, it only needs to contact the GAFTA. The GAFTA is administered by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAFPA), an association of leading organizations in the film, media and entertainment industries. The organization is based in Switzerland, where it has its own Swiss arbitration court to administer the GAFTA. With the GAFTA, producers can negotiate one single agreement for distribution around the world, avoiding lengthy negotiations with broadcasters in every territory. The GAFTA also helps producers sell foreign rights to movies, expanding their audiences and revenue.
How to Join the GAFTA
To join the GAFTA, you must first become a member of the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAFPA) in order to be eligible to apply for the GAFTA. Joining the GAFTA is an optional step, but it will greatly assist your efforts to license your film internationally. The membership fee of the FIAFPA is around $100 per year. It may seem like a large fee to pay, but it actually helps producers a lot by allowing them to join the GAFTA. You can find out more about membership here: https://fiafpa.org/. Once you have joined the FIAFPA, you can then apply to join the GAFTA. There is slight variation between the different GAFTA bodies, so make sure you follow the correct steps for your region.
The Benefits of Joining the GAFTA
- Overcome language barriers - A big challenge for producers when selling foreign rights is overcoming language barriers. The GAFTA aims to make it easier for you to sell your work to broadcasters in different countries by providing a single standard contract. - Sell the same rights worldwide - The one advantage that no other standard has, is that you can sell the same rights worldwide. No other standard allows you to sell the same movie rights to a broadcaster in the US, a broadcaster in Europe, and another broadcaster in Asia. - Easier to sell foreign sales - The key to getting your work seen by as many people as possible is appealing to as many potential viewers as you can. By licensing your work through the GAFTA, you gain access to broadcasters in all territories, increasing the chances for your work to be seen by as many people as possible. - Increased revenue - Most importantly, the GAFTA will increase your revenue. Because the GAFTA provides a single agreement for every broadcaster, it allows you to charge a higher price. - No translation costs - Another common challenge for producers is localization costs. With the GAFTA, there are no translation costs because the agreement is written in English. - Faster revenue - The most obvious benefit of the GAFTA is that it allows you to access more revenue from your work. The other benefits are a nice bonus, but they are not as significant as the main benefit of the GAFTA.
Who is Eligible for Membership?
The GAFTA covers the rights of third-party producers to distribute their work worldwide. The GAFTA is open to any commercial producer who wants to license their work to broadcasters, distributors, investors and other partners. For example, if you are a director, you can apply to the GAFTA if you want to license your film to a theatre chain or a TV network. The GAFTA membership is divided into two categories: Full and Associate. - Full Members - These are commercial producers who have a minimum annual revenue of $1 billion. They must have an annual production of at least $5 million. They must also have an active licensed property in their portfolio. The best example of a full member is Universal Studios, because every year they distribute hundreds of films. - Associate Members - These are commercial producers who have an annual revenue between $250 million and $1 billion. Associate members must have an annual production of at least $1 million. The annual revenue does not have to be from one project, but a sum of all their productions. For example, an independent producer who produces one TV show annually, like a variety program, can be considered an associate member.
The Role of the Arbitration Committee
The Arbitration Committee makes decisions on whether an application should be approved or not. The Committee is made up of a mix of arbitrators, legal experts and representatives from the film and TV industries. The Committee reviews the application and decides whether it should be approved or not. If approved, the Committee then sends the application to the Arbitration Court for processing. The Committee has six members, each serving for three years with a possibility for re-election. The Committee is chaired by a person from the industry and has four rotating vice-chairs from among members from the film and TV industries. The Committee has the task of reviewing applications, conducting hearings, and making decisions on whether the application should be approved or not. The Committee also has the task of submitting annual reports to the Arbitration Court.
Requirements for License Applications
- A minimum of $50 million in equity financing from a GAFTA member. - The production must have been completed for at least one year. - The production must be distributed in theatres, on pay-per-view, on television, on subscription video-on-demand, or online. - The production must have either a domestic or international theatrical release. - The production must be classified no lower than “M” under the Motion Picture Association of America’s Ratings System. - The production must be theatrical length.
Getting an Application Approved
Applications are initially submitted to the FIAFPA. The FIAFPA then reviews the application and submits it to the Committee. The Committee then decides whether the application should be approved or not. If approved, the Committee sends the application to the Arbitration Court for processing. If there is a claim of copyright infringement, then the applicant must first file a copyright infringement notice with the Copyright Office. The Copyright Office is the body designated by Congress to manage the U.S. copyright system. Once the notice is received, then the applicant must follow the claims of copyright infringement procedure, a process that includes receiving a copyright registration certificate.
Conclusion
The GAFTA is a well-established standard for third-party film and television licensing. Its uniform contract allows you to sell your work to broadcasters, distributors, investors and other partners without having to negotiate separate rights agreements with each one. The GAFTA would allow a broadcaster to air your show without having to negotiate a separate rights agreement with each individual broadcaster. The GAFTA provides a single agreement for every broadcaster, with no translation costs, and it would also greatly help your efforts to license your work internationally.
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