Netflix Wins in Court, Council of State Rejects Italian Actors' Appeal: No Data on Viewings and Revenues

The dispute between Netflix and Artisti 7607 regarding fair compensation for performing artists is now definitively closed. The Council of State has rejected the appeal presented by the collecting society, fully confirming both AGCOM's decision and the subsequent ruling of the TAR Lazio. This decision represents an important precedent for the audiovisual sector as it clarifies which information must be shared between streaming platforms and collective rights management bodies.

The controversy dates back to the years 2021-2022, when Artisti 7607, a cooperative representing over 3,000 actors, voice actors, and interpreters in Italy - also founded by actor Elio Germano - filed two complaints with AGCOM, asserting that Netflix had not provided sufficiently detailed data to allow for the correct calculation of the fair compensation owed to artists.

According to the collecting society, the platform should have shared more in-depth information, including viewings of works, generated revenues, and other indicators related to the commercial exploitation of the content. The aim was to obtain a broader informational basis to more accurately determine the remuneration owed to interpreters in relation to connected rights.

Netflix has always rejected such allegations, asserting that it has complied with the obligations set forth by current regulations. This position has been upheld first by AGCOM, then by TAR Lazio, and now definitively by the Council of State.

The judges have established that the platform is not required to provide additional data beyond what is already mandated by the existing regulations. The request made by Artisti 7607 was deemed unacceptable also because, according to what emerged in the proceedings, the collecting society had not provided all the necessary information regarding its own representativeness and the criteria for determining and distributing compensation among the represented artists.

This aspect is one of the most relevant elements of the ruling. The Council of State confirmed the principle previously expressed by AGCOM, according to which, to correctly determine fair compensation, it is essential to know the degree of representativeness of the collecting society concerning the catalog of the relevant operator.

Specifically, Artisti 7607 should have indicated, for each work present in Netflix's catalog, which artists were represented who held roles of significant artistic importance, distinguishing between main interpreters and supporting roles, actors and voice actors, in addition to specifying what percentage they represented of the total rights holders of the work. Only by having such information can a correct determination of fair compensation be achieved, according to the Authority and now also the Council of State.

This decision is significant beyond the individual dispute, as it sets a precedent that will affect the relations between streaming platforms and collecting societies operating in the audiovisual sector. It is reiterated that informational obligations must be reciprocal.