Artists' guild ZAiKS sues Polsat and TVN for royalties

Zwiazkiem Autorow i Kompozytorow Scenicznych (ZAiKS), the guild which represents artists and musicians, has sued the two largest commercial television stations Polsat and TVN, saying the guild is owed tens of million zlotys in royalties. Both TVN and Polsat agree in principal to the payment but disagree with the amount demanded by ZAiKS totalling 4% of their total revenues or about zl. 50 million combined a year. "The biggest private television stations are in conflict with us," said one ZAiKS manager Andrzej Kusmierczyk. "We did not stop paying, as ZAiKS says. The agreement [which ended in 1999] said negotiations would be conducted after it ceased. We are negotiating the new contract," said Polsat management board member Jozef Birka. "TVN pays us only amounts it determines. We know they can afford more without losses for their company," says Kusmierczyk. "We have already paid zl. 2 million since the beginning of our activity in 1997," said Andrzej Soltysik from TVN. "We do not understand why we should pay a percentage of sales, as it would be $5 million to $7 million each year," added Soltysik. (Puls Biznesu, page 1, 11) M.M.