Film production contracts — the deals concluded between a producer, a director and the creative team — are not regulated in Georgia by a separate cinema-production statute: no such law exists in the legislation in force. These contracts are governed by the Law on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights — a film is an audiovisual work, and its creation and use fall precisely under that law, not under imported production-law doctrines. This page explains the legal framework of film deals on the basis of articles fifteen, sixteen, forty-three and forty-four of the law.
Co-Authors and the Transfer to the Producer
Under article fifteen, the authors (co-authors) of an audiovisual work are the director, the author of the screenplay, the author of the dialogues, and the author of a musical work created specifically for that film. Concluding a contract on the creation of the work entails the transfer of the co-authors' exclusive right of use to the producer of the audiovisual work, unless the contract provides otherwise. It is this provision that grounds the producer's right to exploit the film.
At the same time the authors retain the right to receive remuneration from users — broadcasting organizations, cinemas and others — for any use of the work, and any contrary agreement between the producer and the authors is void. This right is exercised only through an organization managing property rights on a collective basis. The producer, for its part, may indicate its own name upon any use of the film or demand such indication. Authors of earlier works incorporated into the film, as well as authors of works of independent significance created during production, retain their copyright and may use those works independently, unless the contract provides otherwise.
Works Made in Employment or on Commission
Article sixteen sets a default that matters greatly in film production: property rights in a work created by an employee or a commission recipient in the course of performing an employment duty or a commission belong, respectively, to the employer or the commissioner, unless the contract provides otherwise. This means that the property rights in a screenplay written as part of employment default to the studio, and a commissioned cinematography or costume design — to the commissioner.
The employer is entitled, upon any use of a work made for hire, to indicate its own name or to demand such indication. The amount of the author's remuneration (honourarium) for the use of a work made for hire and the procedure for its payment may be determined by a contract between the author and the employer — which is why the remuneration question should be settled expressly in the contract.