The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is pleased to announce that Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Columbia Pictures and Screen Gems, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation and Universal Pictures have officially signed on to implement the Producers’ Mark certification: “p.g.a.” Establishing the “Produced by” credit certification is a significant industry achievement as it protects the integrity of one of the most challenging and enduring roles in feature film production. Once a producer’s work on a film is vetted and certified through the PGA’s arbitration process, their “Produced by” credit and name will be followed by the distinctive mark: “p.g.a.”

As of now, the Producers’ Mark certification program does not include television or new media productions.

“This is a remarkable moment in the entertainment industry, and a historic step forward in our twelve year-long campaign at the Producers Guild to protect producers and the ‘Produced by’ credit,” said PGA President Mark Gordon. “Simply put, the Producers’ Mark certification changes the process of how we credit producers on a film by appropriately acknowledging producers for the actual work they have done.”

Gordon continued, “I applaud our industry partners at Universal, Sony, and Fox for working with us to create this groundbreaking agreement. I would also like to thank DreamWorks Animation, The Weinstein Company and our sister guilds – DGA, SAG-AFTRA and WGA – who have supported this from the beginning. Finally, I want to thank Vance Van Petten for his leadership on this important endeavor, and offer a heartfelt congratulations to my former Producers Guild Co-President and now President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Hawk Koch, who has worked tirelessly on furthering the Producers’ Mark certification.”

Hawk Koch, President of the Academy said, “I am as proud of this achievement as anything else I’ve done in my career. This certification is an enormous step and moves us so far forward in protecting the rights of real producers. I am excited, grateful and thankful to everyone who has played a role in this historic accomplishment.”

Vance Van Petten, National Executive Director of the PGA said, “The great news is that the industry is already familiar with the certification process because it is based on the industry-standard Producers Code of Credits that studios and filmmakers use all the time during the awards process to vet the film’s producers. The Producers Guild’s professional staff are experts in the certification process, and we look forward to working with producers and studios alike to ensure that the process is both smooth and swift.”

Van Petten continued, “This solution is a constructive one for all of us. Producers will receive onscreen verification of their work while companies will be free to recognize other individuals with the ‘Produced by’ credit as they deem appropriate.”

As a way of bolstering the PGA’s decade-long campaign to combat the proliferation of the Produced by credit, in October 2010 more than 150 notable producers publicly endorsed the Producers’ Mark idea including: Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Clint Eastwood, Kathleen Kennedy, Graham King, John Lasseter, David Heyman, Douglas Wick, Lucy Fisher, Scott Rudin, and Steven Spielberg.

The Producers’ Mark certifies authenticity, not membership. A producer does not have to be a member of the PGA to be eligible to receive the certification. The Producers’ Mark consists of the acronym of the Producers Guild of America, in lowercase letters separated by periods: p.g.a. However, the Producers’ Mark is, specifically, a certification mark. It simply indicates that the producing credit it follows meets the standards of the PGA: That the credited producer performed a majority of the producing duties on the film.

The Producers’ Mark is given only to producers who request it and who have been certified through the PGA’s arbitration process.

The process for acquiring a certified p.g.a. mark is comparable to the arbitration process implemented by the PGA during awards season, only with a quicker turnaround time. Studios will provide a Notice of Producing Credits to the PGA upon the commencement of post-production. The certification is modeled on the guidelines established by the Producers Code of Credits (PCOC) that was initiated in 2004 and is accepted industry wide.