TGS Baltic advised the Estonian Actors Union with the drafting of a good practice agreement

30.10.2024 TGS Baltic advised the Estonian Actors Union with the drafting of a good practice agreement

On 28 October 2024, the Estonian Actors Union and the Estonian Film Industry Cluster signed a good practice agreement, which will make it much easier for the members of the two associations - actors and film producers - to cooperate and conclude contracts.

 

TGS Baltic senior associates Priit Lätt, Indrek Ergma and Silvia Urgas assisted the Estonian Actors Union in drafting the good practice agreement and successfully negotiated the agreement.

The agreement is mainly driven by the changed legislation regarding the rights of the performer, in particular the performer's right to know how his/her performance was used and the possibility to receive compensation for the use of the performance also afterwards.

The Good Practice Agreement, which will be valid for five years, sets out minimum requirements for the working relationship between the film producer and the actor, from casting to occupational health and safety, as well as the exercise of the actor's personal and proprietary rights as a performer.

Priit Lätt, Partner of TGS Baltic, said of the good practice agreement: "This is a historic milestone in the Estonian film world, which will significantly simplify the actors' contracts, provide minimum guarantees for better role performance and reduce unnecessary legal disputes. We are pleased to note that the agreement also includes modern provisions on artificial talent, inspired by the collective agreement reached in the US at the end of 2023 as a result of the Hollywood strike. Estonian actors will now have greater control over the creation and use of their own artificial actors," said Lätt.

Kaia Kadai, CEO of the Estonian Actors Union, said: "The existence of a good practice agreement will focus the attention of actors and producers on the real goal of a contract - making a good local film. As this is the first time such an agreement has been signed, we will take the first year as a test period. The deeper meaning of the agreement is to ensure that the actor can receive fair compensation for the use of the audiovisual work. Priit Lätt provided the Union with professional and expert advice in a difficult situation, and thanks to the help of the TGS Baltic team, we were able to conclude a good practice agreement faster than we could have predicted at the beginning," said Kadai.

The Estonian Actors' Union is a collective representation organisation that unites professional actors in Estonia. One of the main objectives of the association is to exercise the property rights of its members.