“The profits must be shared:” European producers talk strikes, working with streamers and the importance of owning intellectual property – Thessaloniki

Who should own the intellectual property (IP) of a creative project and who has the right to benefit from it?

These were some of the questions asked this afternoon on the first day of the AGORA series – the Thessaloniki Film Festival’s industry symposium for hybrid film series. The festival’s IP panel was chaired by Alexandra Lebret, executive director of the European Producers Club. Speakers include Alex Traila, Program Manager at the Council of Europe, Amanda Livanou, founder of Neda Film, IP expert Elli Filippopoulou, Beta Film producer Ferdinand Dohna and Julien Leroux, CEO of Paper Entertainment, which appears to be the most definitive answer possible ever gave gave the questions of the day. .

“The profit must be shared. And for this we need to find a balanced solution where rights and intellectual property can be shared,” said Leroux.

“All the fights with the guilds in the US are really about this. There is no reason why all the profits, and we are talking about 100% of the profits, should stay with one side, namely the streamers and studios.”

Leroux, whose credits include the Apple TV series TehranStarring Glenn Close, he added that it is often “very difficult” to identify which projects might be valuable when they are already in development. Therefore, producers must take risks when they invest their resources in a project for which they earn compensation. He used his own show Tehran, which was picked up by Apple after being produced by Cineflix to illustrate this point.

“The risk was absolutely assumed by Cineflix, an independent distributor. They took a risk to make this show. Without her, this show probably would have been a Netflix original. Netflix will own it and keep 100% of the profits,” he said. “That wasn’t the case because we found partners.”

While the panel was largely critical of the influence global streamers have in determining and distributing a project’s profits and intellectual property, it also acknowledged that streamers now act as “accelerators” in a project’s lifespan by raising awareness and empowering audiences around the world to see it.

“They give us the opportunity to reach a global audience. It’s just amazing that shows are being launched in so many languages ​​and countries,” said Leroux. “It’s a great tool for the industry, but the question is what is the price of this deal.”

The Thessaloniki International Film Festival runs until November 12.