Entertainment Industry and the Legal Framework of Intellectual Property
The entertainment industry — film, television, music, publishing and digital platforms — is regulated in Georgia primarily by the law on copyright and neighbouring rights. This law determines who owns the economic rights in a work, how they are transferred by contract, which rights remain with the author, and what special rights publishers and broadcasting organizations hold. For participants in the industry every project must therefore be legally structured: which right belongs to whom and which transfers are fixed in the agreement.
Most disputes in the entertainment sector begin precisely with the ownership of rights: a producer believes everything belongs to the studio, while the author considers that the collaboration meant only a permission to use the work. Avoiding these conflicts requires exact knowledge of the norms establishing the regime for publishers, audiovisual works and works made in the course of employment, as well as the procedure for transferring economic rights.
The Publisher's Special Rights
The law grants publishers a special right to use the works incorporated in encyclopedias, encyclopedic dictionaries, scientific works, periodic and continuing collections, newspapers, journals and other periodical publications. The publisher is entitled, in any use of such works, to indicate its own name or to demand such indication. The use of a work incorporated in a newspaper, journal or other periodical publication by another person without the consent of the publisher or of the author is prohibited, except for the cases provided for by the law.
A separate rule concerns exclusive material: where such material published in the press or another mass information medium is used by another information medium, it is mandatory to cite the medium of first publication. At the same time, the authors retain the exclusive right to use their own works, unless the copyright contract provides otherwise — the publisher's right does not supersede the author's right, and editorial policy must balance both interests.
Audiovisual Works: Co-Authors and the Producer
The law names as the authors — co-authors — of an audiovisual work the director, the author of the scenario, the author of the dialogues and the author of a musical work with or without text created specifically for that work. Concluding a contract on the creation of the work entails the transfer by the co-authors of the exclusive right of use to the producer, unless the contract provides otherwise, and the producer is entitled to indicate its own name in any use — the legal backbone of every production credit.
The co-authors retain the right to receive remuneration from the user — a broadcasting organization, a cinema theatre and others — for any use of the work, and any different agreement between the producer and the authors on this point is void. This right is exercised only through an organization for the collective management of economic rights. Furthermore, the author of an earlier work that has been processed or incorporated as an integral part of the audiovisual work, and the author of a work created during the production that has independent significance, retain copyright in their own works and may exploit them independently, provided the contract does not state otherwise and such exploitation does not impede the normal use of the audiovisual work.
Service Works and the Transfer of Economic Rights
In the production of series, shows and corporate content, the regime of service works is decisive: the economic rights in a work created by an employee or a recipient of an order in connection with an employment duty or an order belong to the employer or the commissioning party, unless the contract provides otherwise. The employer may, in any use of the service work, indicate its own name or demand such indication, while the remuneration and its payment may be determined by a contract between the author and the employer.
The general rule on the movement of rights is straightforward: the author or another holder of copyright may transfer all economic rights or a part of them to a successor. The practical conclusion is that the acquisition of rights by an investor, a distributor or a platform is reliable only when the scope of the transfer is precisely reflected in the contract — a full transfer or the transfer of individual rights, with territory and term; everything not expressly transferred remains with the author.
Contractual Practice and Dispute Prevention
The norms described above yield several principles of contractual discipline. On an audiovisual project, for each creative contribution — the scenario, the direction, the music, the dialogues — it must be clear whether the exclusive right of use passes to the producer, and in what form the authors retain the right to remuneration through the collective management organization. In publishing, it is important to record whether the author retains the exclusive right in material placed in a periodical; in corporate production, the relationship between employer and creator and the terms of remuneration must be fixed.
Court disputes in this field are mostly caused by incomplete contracts: when the parties do not write down which right is transferred, over which territory and for which term, a conflict later becomes almost inevitable. Default rules do exist in the law — for example, the vesting of economic rights in service works in the employer — yet a professional approach fixes every transfer in writing and in dimensions, so that each party knows what it owns when the project succeeds.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the author of an audiovisual work?
Under the law, the authors — co-authors — of an audiovisual work are the director, the author of the scenario, the author of the dialogues and the author of a musical work with or without text created specifically for that work.
May a producer agree different remuneration terms with the authors?
No. Any different agreement between the producer of the audiovisual work and the authors concerning remuneration is void: the authors retain the right to receive remuneration from the user, exercised through an organization for the collective management of economic rights.
Who owns the economic rights in a service work?
The economic rights in a work created by an employee or a recipient of an order in connection with an employment duty or an order belong to the employer or the commissioning party, unless the contract provides otherwise; the amount of remuneration and the payment procedure are set by contract between the author and the employer.
How is exclusive material used by other media?
Exclusive material published in the press or another mass information medium may be lawfully used by another information medium only if it cites the medium in which the material was first published.
How We Help on Legal.ge
On Legal.ge you can find intellectual property and media lawyers who will help with the legal preparation of audiovisual projects, drafting and review of copyright contracts, protection of publisher and broadcaster rights, and resolution of disputes. Choose a specialist and receive a recommendation tailored to your project and grounded in the law.