Broadcasters join as members of Screenrights to claim and receive royalty payments, and can also access additional services.
- There are no Screenrights royalties payable to broadcasters just because they were involved in the making of or licensed for broadcast a film, TV show, documentary or other screen project.
Did that grab your attention? We hope so.
In the same way, there are no Screenrights royalties payable to producers or production companies just because they make a film, TV show, documentary or other screen project.
Screenrights royalty payments are made to rightsholders. Whether a broadcaster is a rightsholder or not will depend on Australian copyright law, the broadcaster’s contracts and any preceding contracts in the chain of title. A broadcaster may be entitled to claim some Screenrights royalties, but not others. Keep reading to learn more.
Quick Links
ROYALTY PAYMENTS
Screenrights collects and pays secondary royalties from Australia and New Zealand. These royalties can range in value from a few cents to thousands of dollars.
See Royalty Payments to find out more about Screenrights royalties and the rights you need to own or control to be entitled to receive them.
Getting it right from the start
The rights associated with collecting Screenrights royalties are transferable. Whether or not you own or control the right to receive Screenrights royalties today depends on the specific terms of the contracts entered into when the film, TV show, documentary or other screen project is made and the specific terms of any subsequent contracts such as distribution agreements.
Screenrights publishes sample contract clauses which highlights relevant legal issues to consider in order to get it right from the start. Of course, you should always seek advice from a qualified legal practitioner before signing any contract.
Some of the agreements relevant to the broadcaster that may deal with Screenrights royalties include:
- Broadcast licence agreement
- Production and investment agreement (where the broadcaster is a party)
- Agency appointment agreement
Prior to the signing of the broadcast licence agreement, various other agreements that may have dealt with Screenrights royalties include:
- Writer’s agreement
- Director’s agreement
- Co-production agreement
- Production and investment agreement
- Interparty agreement
- Distribution and/or sales agency agreement
REGISTERING YOUR CLAIMS
Once you’ve determined that you are a rightsholder and can claim Screenrights royalties, you need to tell us about it. You can do this by submitting registrations on MyScreenrights for the films, TV shows, documentaries or other screen projects in which you own or control the right(s) to collect Screenrights royalties.
Learn more about registering for royalties here.
The Help Centre has some great resources on registering TV shows and episodes and information on registration options (particularly for large repertoires of programs) and registration deadlines.
BROADCAST SIGNAL ROYALTIES
In addition to film, script and commissioned sound recording royalties that a broadcaster may be able to claim on a title-by-title basis, there are also royalty payments for the broadcast signal for Australian Government royalties and New Zealand Educational royalties.
Australian and New Zealand broadcasters are typically entitled to claim the broadcast signal royalties for all programs aired on their network.
There are no royalty payments for broadcast signal for Australian Educational royalties and Australian Retransmission royalties.
APPOINTING AN AGENT (OR NOT)
As a broadcaster, you can join as a member and receive royalty payments directly from Screenrights. You can also choose to appoint an agent to claim and receive royalty payments on your behalf. The choice is yours.
When appointing an agent the broadcaster will need to provide the agent with information about the films, TV shows, documentaries and other screen projects in which it owns or controls the right to collect Screenrights royalties.
Typically, an agent will charge a commission for the services they provide. Often this commission is a percentage of the royalties the agent collects on your behalf. Appointing an agent is a commercial decision and agreement terms vary – so always do your homework before signing.
Screenrights can collect secondary royalties from across the globe on your behalf, as your agent. Learn more about Worldwide Royalty Collection.
HELP CENTRE
Visit the Help Centre to learn more about the royalties we pay, registering your claims and timing of payments.