Producers urged to hold onto IP rights

Australian creatives are in a fight to retain to retain Australian screen stories under Australian ownership and control, according to a new report.

Lateral Economics, commissioned by Screen Producers Australia, shows that the retention of Intellectual Property is vitally important to Australia’s creative economy.

IP retention allows a production company to use the same ideas in new projects – whether that involves reusing footage of characters to create spin-offs or licensing the format for use in other markets.

But the report found some streaming platforms are seeking IP rights in perpituity.

“It is of critical importance that the value of Australian cultural intellectual property is recognised and retained in Australian hands,” said SPA CEO Matt Deaner.

“We are currently engaged in important negotiations with government and streaming platforms around an investment obligation in Australian screen stories, across the Australian screen industry.

“There is a strong view that if we don’t also include a mechanism to support Australian ownership and control of Australian content, then by failing to act at this pivotal moment, we are selling out our culture,” said Mr Deaner.

While much has been said about the level of reinvestment in streaming regulation, much less has been said about intellectual property rights.

But while Brisbane’s Ludo Studio has licensed global distribution rights to Bluey to BBC Studios, it has retained rights, including all future production rights, ensuring that they and the creator are included in all future development of Bluey.

“Australians are rightly proud of the success of the Australian children’s show, Bluey. Imagine the difference if a streaming giant had taken the IP rights to it. Would Bluey still refer to the great Australian concept of a ‘tactical wee’ if it wasn’t Australian? I really doubt that,” said Deaner.

“SPA believes this problem could be easily solved through an amended definition of Australian content so that a program would not be considered ‘Australian content’ for the purposes of the streaming investment obligation unless the intellectual property rights are owned by an independent Australian production business,” said Deaner.

“Other countries are dealing with this issue by ensuring rights cannot be assigned for extended periods. For example, in France, this term is three years. We urgently need a similar mechanism in Australia as SPA has evidence of many streamers seeking rights in perpetuity, mainly as a way of stopping competition from other platforms. That is a practice putting a major brake on Australian creativity.

“If we support Australian IP, we are supporting the sustainability of creative businesses through the viability of Australian production companies, and this, in turn, supports employment and workforce training,” he said.