Media
Italian writers now threatening to strike
Published Tuesday, Nov 20 2007, 10:53 GMT | By Neil Wilkes
Italy's union of screenwriters is threatening a strike over new media royalties.
Encouraged by the ongoing WGA strike in the US, SIAE - the Italian equivalent of the WGA - is preparing to down pens if an agreement is not reached with companies broadcasting TV and film content over mobile and internet platforms.
It claims phone operators such as Telecom Italia, Vodafone and Hutchinson are not paying royalties to writers for using their content. The union is also in talks with pay TV provider Sky Italia, which has been selling off mobile and web rights to third parties, but has warned that a strike will begin if the dispute is not resolved by December 31.
"We certainly work in much worse conditions than our US colleagues who are protesting," Fausto Brizzi, one of the country's top writers, told L'Espresso magazine. "We would be happy with the type of contract and rights protection they have."
Encouraged by the ongoing WGA strike in the US, SIAE - the Italian equivalent of the WGA - is preparing to down pens if an agreement is not reached with companies broadcasting TV and film content over mobile and internet platforms.
It claims phone operators such as Telecom Italia, Vodafone and Hutchinson are not paying royalties to writers for using their content. The union is also in talks with pay TV provider Sky Italia, which has been selling off mobile and web rights to third parties, but has warned that a strike will begin if the dispute is not resolved by December 31.
"We certainly work in much worse conditions than our US colleagues who are protesting," Fausto Brizzi, one of the country's top writers, told L'Espresso magazine. "We would be happy with the type of contract and rights protection they have."
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