An analysis of the laws relating to the film industry

Abstract

This thesis analyses the various laws which influence in some way the film industry in Malta. The laws involved range from Copyright and Neighbouring Rights, Fiscal Incentives, other Benefits, and Censorship and Film Classification laws. And that is how I have divided my chapters. The first chapter deals with the law of copyright and related rights. The subject matter and conditions for the granting of copyright are examined. Some space for debate is given to the idea-expression dichotomy which exists particularly in the film's initial stages. I then go on to discuss the various rights belonging to rights holders such as distribution, rental, and reproduction, and the eventual infringement of such rights. This spills over into the second chapter which deals with the problems faced by the industry now that we are living in the digital millennium. Copyright is violated everyday whenever a person anywhere in the world switches on his or her pc and accesses the Internet to download a film, or else copies films using DVD recorders. The major problems are piracy and counterfeiting. This is an ever growing danger that is troubling the industry world-wide. Every so often we hear about it in Malta with raids carried out on the "Monti", but this is happening everywhere. The next chapter deals with the laws which grant incentives. The budget for the last two years running has made special provision for films being shot on location here. The Business Promotion Act and the VAT Act give tax credits and such other benefits. On the other hand, the EU awards special funding to local productions. A number of programmes have been created for this purpose, and I have examined them all in this chapter. Finally we come to the laws on film classification and censorship. The Criminal Code and the Code of Police Laws, and regulations made under them take centre stage here. We now have the Film Classification Board that is given the task of classifying films in order to better guide the audience. The Board, in turn is guided by the few provisions in various laws that guard against obscenity, pornography and the vilification of Religion. I have also included all the views of the various people I have met with and spoken to while writing this thesis. They are all people who are involved in the film industry here in Malta. They have contributed, even if by small means, significantly as I could gather invaluable information from their comments.