No, VG Bild-Kunst does not guarantee any legal protection. VG Bild-Kunst administers the rights assigned to it by its members which the authors are not in a position to exercise themselves for practical or legal reasons.

VG Bild-Kunst respects the moral rights of its members. For this reason, no licences are usually granted that could encourage any changes to a work or a violation of moral rights without the explicit approval of the right holder. However, it might be expedient for administrative and organisational reasons to approve uses without making specific inquiries. This would be the case in the following instances:

VG Bild-Kunst has partnership agreements with all the relevant foreign collecting societies. On the strength of these so-called agreements of reciprocal representation, VG Bild-Kunst receives royalties for the use of works by German authors abroad. In the same way, VG Bild-Kunst also administers rights in Germany for the members of its foreign sister organisations.

In certain exceptional cases in the interests of the general public, use of the work may be possible without prior consent or without any royalty claim by the author. These exceptions are the limitations on copyright.

Inform VG Bild-Kunst as quickly as possible giving precise details of sources or supporting photos. Bild-Kunst will then examine whether and in what form it can take action.

Yes, on principle. But when the agency issues your works, it must make it quite clear that the material is copyrighted. Before publication, the agency must obtain permission from VG Bild-Kunst.

A list of the artists we represent for the reproduction right can be found on the website under the heading Search for Artists.

The list Online rights contains all the artists, for whom we administer the Internet rights.

The list Royalty resale rights is aimed solely at the art trade. Click here for more information about the royalty resale right.

Please check first whether the artist still has copyright protection. The copyright and exploitation rights for works of art do not expire until 70 years after the death of the author. The works enter the public domain on 1 January of the year following the seventieth anniversary of the author’s death. A separate search has to be made for copyrights of artists not represented by VG Bild-Kunst. There is no central body for investigating rightholders.

VG Bild-Kunst does not have a photo archive. A separate search and separate fees are necessary in this case.