Abstract

As a long experienced television manager and now chairman of Raisat, a branch of Italian public service company, Rai, providing thematic channels to the digital platform Tele+, the author reviews the legal and market problems faced in bargaining and achieving rights to broad - or narrow - cast from SIAE (the Italian music authors, performers and publishers society), on films, telefilms, documentaries, live and recordes concerts and operas, owned by small companies or by huge multinational conglomerates, rights on the products existing in the mother company library, Rai, or on new programs produced by Raisat. Legal intricacy and difficulties as well as commercial practises like output deal or block-booking are making it clear that the traditional system of control and protection of the authors and producers rights - if not itself encouraging evasion and piracy - is doomed to be brought up for discussion in a market environment far less homogeneous and static as it was.