United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2001-01-31 monographic deposited born digital 18 p. GA 1.13:GAO-01-291 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-291 P0b002ee1803a2067 f:d01291 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-291 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-291 GAO-01-291 Television broadcasting Labor unions Payments Letter Report

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act was enacted to ensure that members of actors', directors', and writers' unions were paid residuals when motion pictures were reused in such media as television and video. GAO's analysis of motion picture industry data found that, in the three years leading up to the 1998 legislation, at most, about 2 percent of the total of over $1.7 billion in residuals owed went unpaid. The unpaid residuals accrued when production companies did not require distributors to assume the obligation to pay residuals upon reuse of the film. In GAO's review of films made under contract with an actors' union between 1996 and 1998, GAO found 771 films for which residuals had not been paid or obligations assumed. About 87 percent of these films fell into the category of low-budget films--films with production costs under $2 million. Because these low-budget films typically generate little in the way of earnings on which residuals are based, the amount of lost residuals is relatively small. While there is no observable impact on the motion picture industry to date, the legislation could most likely affect the profitability of low-budget films. The payment of previously unpaid residuals could increase the production and distribution costs of low-budget films, thereby diminishing the profits. However, even if the legislation caused some low-budget films to become unprofitable, gross revenues in the motion picture industry would fall by less than 2 percent. Although the legislation's impact on the overall motion picture industry may be small, certain individuals working on low-budget films could experience substantial losses. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-291/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-291.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-291/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-291.pdf GAO-01-291 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-291 Letter Report GAO-01-291; Motion Pictures: Legislation Affecting Payments for Reuse; Television broadcasting Labor unions Payments Title 28 Section 4001 28 U.S.C. 4001 Public Law 105-304