Copyrights
Every creation that is an intellectual creation of an author and an expression of their personality through free and creative choices is protected by copyright. To be covered by copyright, a work must be an original, intellectual creation specific to its maker. Works of art, paintings, sculptures, graphic work, literary and academic texts, etc. can all be protected by copyright.
- Copyright ensures that the work is protected, so that artists can object to unauthorised copies. Anyone who wants to use the work will need to ask the copyright owner for permission first.
- No formalities or registration are required: protection exists from the time the creation is made, with no associated paperwork. As soon as the work has reached its tangible, original form, the maker can invoke copyright.
- Originality / original form means that it needs to be an original creation.
- After the artist’s death, copyright is transferred to the heirs.
- The protection period offered by copyright is limited to 70 years after the artist’s death (or the death of the longest-surviving maker, if there are more than one). This period begins on the first 1 January after the death of the artist.
- Some organisations, legacies or estates opt to limit their organisation to this period. Once the 70 years are up, the work enters the public domain and copyright elapses. Then everyone can use, share and publish the work freely.
You can subdivide copyright into two parts: economic rights and moral rights.
- Economic rights
- Right of reproduction: this is the right to reproduce the work, e.g. by making a copy. This requires the permission of the artist or heirs. Please note: All forms of copying are covered by the right of reproduction.
- Right of communication of the work to the public: The artist decides for themself when the work is made accessible to the public (see also ‘right of disclosure’).
- Loan, lease and distribution rights: Permission from the artist or heirs is required to loan or sell works and to publish a book, etc.
- Artist’s resale right: this is mainly applicable to the visual arts. It covers the right to monitor the sale of works. The aim is to allow artists to share in the profits for subsequent sales of their work. This means that when your work is sold, you have the right to a share in this sale.
- Please note: Heirs can also claim this right.
- Moral rights
- Right of disclosure: this is the artist’s right to display their work to the public.
- Right of attribution: also called ‘paternity’, this is the right concerning authorship. You are obliged to make the work known under the artist’s name.
- Please note: The works must be signed. If the artist works under a pseudonym or distributes the work anonymously, different rights apply.
- What if you want to confirm that the work of art was made by the artist, or a seller wants to offer certainty? Create a certificate of authenticity. This certificate guarantees that the work of art is original and authentic. See the Cultuurloket website for more information (Only available in Dutch).
- Right of integrity: this is the right for the work to be respected. The artist or heirs can object to any modification or distortion of the work.
An important distinction between these two types of right (economic and moral) is that economic rights can be transferred by means of a contract, but moral rights cannot. However, you can make limited arrangements not to claim moral rights in various cases, for example when the artistic legacy is used for academic research.
Be sure to read the section on the ‘financial resources’ of your artistic legacy in this guide as well. This section discusses how copyright and the artist’s resale right can constitute a source of income for your activities.