Writer’s Strike May Extend Across the Pond

The Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) strike, now in its 12th day may soon extend beyond the ocean separating America from Europe, spreading its influence into Italy. Screenwriters in that country, taking a cue from American writers, are threatening legal action and a walk-out against Italian movie studios and television networks, as well as mobil phone company owners. Citing the same concerns as their American counterparts, Italy’s screenwriters have sounded the call to action.

Andrea Purgatori, the screenwriters’ representative in the Italian artistic copyright association SIAE stated in Europe Variety that the organization’s members are very upset over the lack of royalties pertaining to Italian film and TV drama product sold for web and mobile phone use. One of SIAE’s biggest complaints is against the Rupert Murdoch owned company Sky Italia, which in past months has sold off plenty of mobile phone and web rights for Italian product to several Italian telecoms.

Purgatori said SIAE has also taken legal action against mobile phone operators Telecom Italia, Vodafone, Wind and Hutchinson 3G, warning them to stop use of movies and TV dramas as content for their clients unless they are prepared to pay out specific royalty fees to writers.

“We’ve been talking a lot about it, and we will strike if we don’t get adequate compensation,” Purgatori said in an interview today with the weekly paper L’Espresso.

If no agreement can be reached, then starting in January 2008 Italy’s artistic copyright organization said it will consider illegal all further use of film and drama sold by Sky Italia for new media use.