Categories of works
For visual authors
We are the only collecting society in Lithuania that represents authors of visual works, and we are able to legally and quickly grant a licence to use the works of the authors we represent. We currently represent more than 1,200 Lithuanian and over 100,000 foreign visual artists (painters, photographers, illustrators, architects, designers, scenographers).
Viena porcija
2018 © Agnė KišonaitėWhite Glance
1990 © Stasys EidrigevičiusMarks of Wounds and Glory
2022 © Andrius ZakarauskasBenefits of membership
Tapę mūsų nariais vizualiųjų kūrinių autoriai savo turtinių autorių teisių administravimą patiki mums. Mes surenkame jums atlyginimą iš kūrinių naudotojų, atstovaujame užsienio šalyse, konsultuojame teisiniais klausimais. Nariai gali dalyvauti asociacijos finansavimo konkursuose ir organizacijos valdyme.
Royalties for visual authors are collected for the rights granted to reproduce the works (reproduction and publication in books, periodicals and other publications); to make them available to the public on TV; to retransmit them on cable TV, to make them available to the public on the internet; to display them to the public (displaying them in exhibitions for which an admission fee is charged).
There are also four types of compensation available to authors of visual works. Compensatory remuneration is paid for the resale of an artwork. The remuneration for the reproduction of works for private purposes, also known as the “Blank Media”, is collected from sellers of blank media and devices capable of recording visual works, such as computers, mobile phones, USB sticks, and CDs. It compensates the authors for the permission to make a single copy of a work for personal use without the author’s authorisation from legal sources, as set out in the Lithuanian Law on Copyright and Related Rights. This compensation is paid once a year.
Visual authors also receive compensation for the use of books in libraries and for the reproduction of works by reprography.
Authors of visual works are represented in foreign countries under mutual representation agreements with foreign authors’ collective administration societies. Information about our members is published in the international directory of authors The Interested Parties Information System (IPI).
Association members are provided with free consultations of the association’s lawyers. Also, our lawyers have prepared a whole package of standard contracts. To get them, contact our specialists.
Members of the Association LATGA have the right to submit applications for partial financing of projects from the Creative Activity Fund of the Association LATGA.
The documents regulating the activities of the organization are approved once or twice a year at the General Meeting of Members (GMM), to which all members are invited. Also, our members have the right to participate in Council elections (both to put forward their candidacies and to vote), which are held every four years.
In accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 651 of the Law on Copyrights and Related Rights, Association LATGA can issue extended licenses to users, i.e. licenses and the use of works by unrepresented authors. The Extended License ensures the same conditions and the same rights for all rights holders, including the right to receive remuneration for the use of the works. We are actively seeking authors for whom we have outstanding amounts. You can check if you are not on our list of wanted authors. If you have not signed a representation agreement with LATGA and do not want us to include your works in the extended licenses issued, you have the right to object to the use of your works. Please provide us with a free-form notice indicating whether you are requesting to stop administering all of your copyrights, or only certain categories of rights, or certain types of works. List of extended licenses issued by LATGA.
How to become a member
The most important condition for becoming a member is that the visual works you have created (paintings, graphic works, sculptures, photographs, etc.) have been/are in the public domain.
We may already be looking for you to pay the royalties we have collected, so please check if you are on our list of authors/heirs.
To join, follow these 3 simple steps.
Step 1
Fill in the online application form and wait for our notification of the next steps.
Step 2
Pay a one-time joining fee of EUR 10 by transferring it to our account at SEB Bank LT71 7044 0600 0038 2455, indicating “joining fee” in the payment details.
Step 3
Sign the membership agreement sent by our specialist. Congratulations, you are now a member of LATGA!
Already a member in another art field?
If you are already a LATGA member in another artistic field and want to receive remuneration for the use of visual works, please contact our experts at the Visual Department!
For copyright heirs
If the author was a LATGA member, we will issue a certificate confirming that, according to Law on Copyright and Related Rights, the heir was the owner of the copyright in artistic and scientific works. This certificate allows notaries to issue an inheritance certificate, passing the author’s property rights to the heir.
If the author was not a member, we do not issue certificates Heirs must provide other documentation to the notary proving the deceased was the author. These can be contracts with publishing houses, museums, proof of membership of a particular creative union, the work itself (e.g. a book, a record) or an inventory of works drawn up by a bailiff.
Property rights last for 70 years after the author’s death.
Manage your works in Self-Service
Document forms and useful information
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I register the rights to my work?
According to the Law on Copyright and Related Rights, copyright is created from the moment the work is created, so you do not need to register your work anywhere. Product designs and trademarks are registered with the State Patent Office.
How can I protect my work from unauthorised copying?
When you publish your work, there is always a risk that someone will use it without permission. In copyright disputes, it is useful to have proof that you created the work in the first place: a copy of the publication in which your work was published, with you as the author. Before entering a tender or proposing your draft to a client, send a photograph of your work/draft to yourself by registered mail and keep the envelope unopened. This will be proof of the date of creation of the work. If you are entering tenders, please submit your work/draft against signature only. Always indicate your authorship and © mark when publishing your work.
The user of the works proposes to sign a copyright contract. What should I pay attention to?
It is important what rights you are granting or transferring and for how long. We recommend that rights are granted rather than transferred. Do not list all the rights in the law, but only grant the rights that the user of the works needs. For each right granted, the author should be paid a royalty. If you are a member of LATGA, please send us the contract before you sign it. The membership agreement obliges you not to transfer to others the rights you have entrusted to us for management.
Can I use other authors’ works in my own work?
Such use is subject to the author’s economic and moral rights and requires the author’s permission. When the author’s economic rights are no longer valid (70 years after the author’s death), the use of the work may be made, but without prejudice to the author’s moral rights (authorship, the right to the author’s name and the right to the integrity of the work). In the absence of the author’s heirs and after the expiry of the author’s economic rights, the protection of the author’s moral rights is the responsibility of the Ministry of Culture.
Do I have to pay taxes to the State on the royalties I receive from LATGA?
LATGA transfers royalties to you on which you have already paid taxes to the State, except for royalties received from abroad.
Are you the author of the work, or do you want to use the work?
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If you can’t find the information you need on the website, we’ll answer any questions you may have during your consultation!