RIGHTS & ROYALTIES

Author´s rights that emanate from Intellectual Property have two aspects, on one side we have the economic rights that include exclusive rights as well as remuneration rights, and on the other side we have the moral rights. These are independent rights, compatible and cumulative to others.

In Spain the Intellectual Property has been protected by a specific law since 1847. The current Intellectual Property Law (LPI by its acronym in Spanish) was approved in 1996, although it has been substantially modified by various laws in order to incorporate European directives on the matter into the Spanish legal system. The last reform was in 2021 of the legislative text to incorporate the European Directives 2019/789 and 2019/790.

Projection in cinemas and similar establishments (Art 90.3 & 90.4 LPI).

In any event, and regardless of what may have been agreed in the production contract, where the audiovisual work is exhibited in public places against payment of an admission charge, the authors shall be entitled to collect from those who show the work in public a percentage of the proceeds from the said public showing.

The projection or exhibition without charging and admission fee, shall give the authors the right to collect such remuneration as appropriate according to the general tariffs laid down by the relevant collecting society.

Projection in cinemas is considered as an act of communication to the public.

Communication to the public by terrestrial broadcasting, by satellite, by cable, or by online means of transmisión (Art 90.4 LPI).

Communication to the public shall be construed as any act whereby more than one are afforded access to the work without prior distribution of a copy to each person.

Communication shall not be deemed public where it takes place in strictly home environment that is not an integral part of or connected to a dissemination network of any kind whatsoever.

Shall be deemed acts of communication to the public, among others:

  • The broadcasting or communication to the public by satellite of any work;
  • The transmission of any works to the public by wire, cable, optic fibre or other comparable process, whether on subscription or not;
  • The retransmission of the broadcast work by a transmitting body different from the original one, of the broadcast work.

Communication to the public on demand at no cost, against a fixed subscription or an individual Price (Art 90.4LPI).

Making audiovisual works available to the public, through wire or wireless procedures, so that any person may access such works from the place and at the time such person may choose, shall give the authors the right to collect remuneration according to the general tariffs laid down by the relevant collecting society.

Communication in public places of radio and television programmes (Art 90.4 LPI)

The emission or transmission of the broadcast work, by means of any appropriate instrument, in a place accessible to the public shall be deemed as an act of communication to the public.

The transmission to the public of an audiovisual work by any means or procedure, whether wireless or not shall give the authors the right to collect such remuneration as be appropriate according to the general tariffs laid down by the relevant collecting society.

Rental (Art 90.2 LPI) and lending (Art 37.2 LPI) of videograms

The Author who has assigned or transferred to an audiovisual producer his right of rental in relation to the original or a copy of an audiovisual recording shall preserve the unwaivable right to receive equitable remuneration for the rental thereof. Such remuneration shall be payable by those who carry out the operations of rental to the public of audiovisual.

The copyright holders may not object to reproductions of works where they are made without economic advantage by museums, libraries, record libraries, film libraries, newspaper libraries or archive which are publicly –owned or from part of institutions of a cultural or scientific character, provided the reproduction is effected solely for research or conservation purposes.

Likewise, museums, archives, libraries, newspaper libraries, record libraries or film libraries in public ownership or pertaining to institutions of general cultural, scientific or educational interest not trading for profit, or to teaching Institutions integrated in the Spanish educational system shall not require the license of the copyright holders or to pay remuneration to hem for the loans that they make.

The owners of these institutions shall remunerate the authors for the loans made in the amount to be ser by Royal Decree.

Private copying (Art 25 LPI)

Reproduction carried out exclusively for private use by means of non–typographical technical apparatus or instruments, of works publicly exploited in the form of books or publications assimilated thereto by regulation for those purposes, and also in the form of phonograms, videograms or other sound, visual or audiovisual media, shall give rise to a single equitable remuneration payable to the authors.

The author is hereby vested with the following rights which cannot be waived or assigned:

  • The right to decide whether his work is to be made available to the public, and if so in what form; 
  • The right to determine whether such communication should be effected in his name, under pseudonym or sign or anonymously;
  • The right to claim authorship of the work;
  • The right to demand respect for the integrity of the work and to object to any distortion, modification or alterations of it or any act in relation to it that may be prejudicial to his legitimate interests or his reputation;
  • The right to alter the work subject to respect for the acquired rights of third parties and the protection requirements of goods of cultural interests;
  • The right to withdraw the work from circulation due to changes in his intellectual or ethical convictions, after paying damages to the holders of the exploitation rights.

If author later decides to resume exploitation of his work, shall give preference when offering the relevant rights, to the previous holder thereof, and shall offer terms reasonably similar to the original terms.

The right of access to the sole or a rate copy of the work, when it is another person’s possession, for the purpose of the exercise of the right of communication or any other applicable right.

The aforesaid right shall not allow the author to demand the moving of the work, and access to it shall take in the place and manner that cause the least inconvenience to the holder thereof, who shall be indemnified, where appropriate, for any damages caused to him.