Austrian film copyright law contains some notable regulations:
The “cessio legis” regulation, Art. 38 of the Copyright Act, places publication/distribution rights, from the onset of the project, solely in the hands of the producer not the creators (director, actors). The “cessio legis” regulation applies to commercially produced films, which are the vast majority of all film productions, and includes publication/distribution rights to adaptations and translations (synchronization) as well as the completion of the film. The “cessio legis” regulation, however, does not cover the publication rights or user licenses for work the movie was based on (i.e.: a novel, screenplay, or a film score); the film producer must acquire these copyrights contractually.
Art. 69 of the Copyright Act gives the producer of a commercially produced film all publication and distribution rights to the contributions from performing artists (actors, singers, dancers, etc.), who were knowingly and willingly part of the film, without their specific consent.
The producer is entitled to ancillary copyrights both as motion picture producer (Art. 74 CA) and record producer (Art. 76 CA).