ACTIVITY REPORT 

The current Executive Board of DBCA was elected in April 2021 with a term until April 2024. It includes Henrique de Freitas Lima (President), Malu de Martino (Vice President), Sylvio Back (General Secretary), Helio Pitanga (Treasurer), and Hamsa Wood (Communications) as members.

Administrative and financial restructuring of the entity, consolidating obligations with service providers and establishing a structure compatible with the revenues.

Resumption of relationships with international partners under new parameters, especially with DAC (Directores Argentinos Cinematográficos), the main supporter of DBCA since its foundation, and CISAC (International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers).

Reorganization and simplification of the distribution parameters for rights derived from Reciprocity Agreements with management societies in other countries. In 2022 and 2023, DBCA made 35 payments of remuneration rights to its members.

Resumption of negotiations for new Reciprocity Agreements and consolidation of existing ones. Currently, DBCA has 23 Agreements in place or under negotiation.

Consolidation of the collaborators team, which includes the accounting firm Riocap, rights distribution analyst Anna Seilhe, secretary Margit Richter, and the legal advisory firm Ricomini Piccelli Advocacia.

The Struggle for Remuneration Rights

In March 2023, DBCA was invited to Brasília, alongside sister societies GEDAR (screenwriters) and INTERARTIS BRASIL (performers), by the Secretary of Author’s Rights and Intellectual Property of the Ministry of Culture, Marcos Souza, to discuss the establishment of Remuneration Rights for Audiovisual Authors in Brazil.

The government took a position on the need to amend the Author’s Rights Law, as the current wording does not allow us to charge for rights. They expressed their commitment to promoting the adjustment of the law as soon as possible.

The first move was to include the issue in Bill 2320/2020, the so-called "Fake News Bill," which did not progress or even reach a vote due to strong opposition from Brazilian civil society sectors and the opposition in Congress. This bill also included the remuneration right for journalistic content owners, who seek compensation for use by platforms.

Subsequently, thanks to the willingness of the author of Bill 2370/2019, Deputy Jandira Feghalli (PCdoB/RJ), who gave up her text, the two issues were included in her project. Negotiations for the vote and approval of the text began, led by Secretary Marcos Souza, the rapporteur, Deputy Elmar Nascimento (União Brasil/BA), and Deputy Jandira Feghalli herself.

Although the text only addresses the digital environment, excluding media such as cinemas, open TV, cable TV, and other uses of audiovisual works, the opposing side in negotiations consists of entities like ABERT (Brazilian Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters) and ABRATEL (Brazilian Association of Radio and Television).

The opposition to the approval of Remuneration Rights is led by streaming platforms linked to broadcasting companies, such as Globoplay.

Although Bill 2370/2019 has an urgent regime for approval, President Arthur Lira (PP/AL) conditioned the vote on an agreement between the parties, which did not happen despite months of negotiations. The deadlock remains in early 2024.

International support for the cause had significant moments in 2023, especially the advocacy with the Brazilian representation at WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization), a UN agency that Brazil is part of, directed by CISAC under DBCA's guidance, in addition to motions in all international events DBCA participated in.

DBCA, in addition to being part of CISAC, is a member of FESAAL (Federation of Audiovisual Authors' Societies of Latin America) and AVACI (International Confederation of Audiovisual Authors).

With the resumption of in-person meetings after the COVID-19 pandemic, DBCA participated in the Annual Assemblies of AVACI in Seoul (2022) and Rio de Janeiro (2023), and FESAAL in Punta del Este/Buenos Aires (2022) and Santiago, Chile (2023).

The AVACI Congress in Rio de Janeiro in May 2023 was locally produced by DBCA with support from GEDAR.

Continued fight in Congress for the amendment of the LDA, with the clear and undeniable establishment of Remuneration Rights for Audiovisual Authors in Brazil.

Effective start of the collection in Brazil of our rights and those of colleagues from foreign societies with Reciprocity Agreements with DBCA.

Strengthening of DBCA's international collection, enhancing the presence of our directors' works on rights distribution platforms. This will allow foreign societies with Reciprocity Agreements with DBCA to send even more significant amounts to Brazil.