FIAT/IFTA World Conference 2024

Considering the growing popularity of podcasts due to their inherent convenience for consumption in areas such as deepening knowledge and entertainment, and taking the example of the Rai Play Sound platform, where original podcasts can be found, in addition to the radio offering of new and/or repertoire programs, we will analyse, through concrete examples, the methods and verification processes implemented by Rai’s Rights Management Department when rights clearances are requested in order to use archive material in new in-house or third parties podcast productions.

We will examine the different types of contracts, from the oldest ones, which only provided for radio and television rights, to the newest ones where exploitation within podcasts is already provided for in the contractual clauses, explaining what risks we take and why. Rights Management Department follows Rai’s Legal Department’s guidelines , but its decisions are also the result of comparisons and evaluations made for each individual case based on various factors: whether internal use or commercialization of the podcast is envisaged; the nature of the repertoire requested (movies, entertainment, investigations, sports, etc.); whether the podcast consists of the full retransmission of a program already broadcasted or whether the material must be inserted into a new work.

We will also discuss cases where the Fair Use principle can be applied for the free use of archives (for example, for purposes of criticism, comment, information, teaching, instruction, or research).

During the presentation, we will show some specific and potentially critical cases, discussing how we behave in the presence of material protected by copyright and agreements between Rai and collecting societies.