Will I be asked about the distribution of licences for reprographic rights?
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:
- cultural uses
- uses in the field of education and instruction
- non-monographic uses
- press and television uses
On the other hand, in the case of extensive or unusual uses approval is only given after previously consulting the right holder.
Are my rights represented abroad?
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.
What artists are represented by 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.
What do I do, if I cannot find an artist in the list?
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.