In recent decades there has been an enormous expansion in the world of audio-visual production, which in the case of Spain has materialised in a considerable increase in the development of international projects that have progressively changed the way in which audio-visual works are produced in our country.

In this new context, the need has arisen to adapt not only the way in which production is carried out, but also the way in which legislation on the matter is passed, especially in the field of Tax and Regulatory Law, something that affects both international audio-visual projects in general and Originals, i.e., production orders from international audio-visual platforms to Spanish producers registered in the Register of Film and Audio-visual Companies.

To understand how the latter type of productions work, Andersen's Culture, Sport and Entertainment area has organised the seminar "Originals: turning points. Legal, fiscal and regulatory impacts", in which Patricia Motilla, partner at Andersen and director of the area, and Elena Martínez Hoces and Nerea Sanjuan, directors at Andersen, explained all the key aspects that come into play when it comes to successfully carrying out an Originals production in Spain.

"At Andersen we have been working for years on the framework of tax rebates for foreign productions and on what we will focus on today, the Originals, so we want to offer a session with the most practical approach possible and in which we can explain all the most relevant aspects from a legal perspective on the subject," explained Patricia Motilla.

The seminar explained the keys to understanding what Originals are and what are the main reasons that have made Spain an attractive place at a legal level to carry out a production by international audio-visual platforms.

On this basis, Patricia Motilla introduced the concept of tax rebate, what it implies, how it is structured at a tax level and the requirements for its accrual, among others. 

Based on these key aspects, Patricia Motilla and Elena Martínez Hoces offered a general overview to understand what Originals are, as well as the working methodology for them, from the type of corporate structure to the different phases that the project must go through. "In the projects we work on, we especially emphasise the need to include many of these points in the Production Service Agreement (PSA) that is formalised with the platform," Patricia explained. In addition to all these details, the presentation also covered the points that the platforms will have to evaluate when deciding to work with Originals.

Elena Martínez Hoces introduced the debate on the most controversial points to be considered in the framework of the production of an "Original", highlighting the key points to consider when negotiating the signing of the Product Service Agreement in tax, accounting and regulatory matters.

The intellectual property, contractual and regulatory aspect was provided by Nerea Sanjuan, who explained the particularities in terms of intellectual property faced by the national producer when faced with the production of an Original, as well as the key aspects to consider, from a purely contractual perspective in the formalisation of a PSA. From a regulatory perspective, Nerea Sanjuan analysed the new requirements recently introduced in article 36.2 of the Corporate Tax Law to be able to access the tax rebate, paying special attention to the cultural certificate. On the other hand, she highlighted the main elements to consider in terms of compliance with the obligations of the promotion of European works, which will imminently be applicable to international platforms not established in Spain, and which must also be considered in the production of an Original.

With all of this, the firm's professionals offered a broad, detailed and clear review of the points that both international platforms and the rest of the agents involved in the development process of audio-visual projects must assess to carry out an Original.

"With this seminar we wanted to give a few messages for you to take into consideration" commented Patricia Motilla, explaining that "we believe that a revolution is coming in Spain and Europe in the field of the audio-visual industry".

In closing, the partner of the Culture, Sport and Entertainment area thanked all the attendees for their participation and commented that "The audio-visual hub is going to allow money to come in. We are not very clear, although it is in the offing, how it will be distributed and used, what is most important or how it will reach national productions, but we are here at your disposal for any doubts that this may raise".