Categories of works
For playwrights
LATGA is the only collective management organisation in Lithuania representing the rights of authors of plays and musical plays. Each year we pay royalties to about 400 Lithuanian and hundreds of foreign authors of plays and musical plays (playwrights, authors of stagings or adaptations, librettists, choreographers, translators, composers of music for operas, ballets, musicals and drama performances, as well as authors and directors of stage and costume design and staging of a performance).
Ballet “Procesas”. Composer M. Urbaitis
Photo by © Martynas AleksaSpektaklis „Įstabioji ir graudžioji Romeo ir Džuljetos istorija“. Režisierius O. Koršunovas
Photo by © Tomas IvanauskasPerformance “Sala, Kurios Nėra”. Directed by A. Špilevoj
Photo by © Arvydas GudasBenefits of membership
By becoming a member, playwrights entrust us with the management of their copyright. We collect royalties from the users of their works, represent them internationally and advise them on legal matters. Members can participate in the Association’s funding competitions and in the management of the organisation.
For authors of plays and musical plays, royalties are collected from public and private theatres and cultural centres, from public and commercial TV channels and from rebroadcasting on cable television, for the right to perform their works in public on the stage. We also collect royalties from abroad for touring productions or other public performances. Royalties are paid to authors of plays and musical plays for the public performance of their works in theatre once a month and in cultural centres once every six months. For the broadcasting and rebroadcasting of works, it shall be paid once a quarter.
Also, authors of dramatic works receive compensatory remuneration for reproduction of works for personal purposes. This fee, also known as the Blank Media Tax, is collected from sellers of blank media and devices on which audiovisual works can be reproduced (recorded) (computers, mobile phones, USB keys, DVDs, etc.). This fee is compensation for the fact that the provisions of the Lithuanian Copyright and Related Rights Law allow making one copy of the work for personal use without the author’s permission from legal sources. Compensation is paid once a year.
Authors of Lithuanian drama and musical drama works are represented abroad according to mutual cooperation agreements with foreign authors’ collective administration societies, publishing houses and agencies. Also, drama authors are included in the global catalog of authors of 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 LATGA association have the right to participate in the competition, submit applications and receive partial financing from the Creative Activity Fund for the implementation of their projects.
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.
How to become a member
The most important condition for becoming a member is that the works you have created (plays, operas, operettas, musicals, ballets, dance performances) have been/are being performed in public.
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 artistic field?
If you are already a LATGA member in another artistic field and want to receive remuneration for the use of plays, please contact our experts at the Plays Department!
Irena Konopackienė
Head of the Drama Works' 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
- View royalty distribution reports
- See registered/unregistered works
- Submit work registrations for compensation/royalty distribution
For login assistance, contact us at +370 619 84926 or aiste@latga.lt.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What level of royalties will be payable to authors for the use of their works in a performance?
Royalties for the public performance of plays and musical plays shall be calculated on the proceeds of ticket sales, applying the established royalty rates for authors of plays and musical plays.
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 an author waive royalties for the public performance after becoming a LATGA member?
A LATGA member may waive royalties only for a specific non-commercial event. At least 30 days before the start of the exploitation of the work(s) or object(s) of related rights, an application in the prescribed form must be filled in for a single licence to use the work(s) or object(s) of related rights for non-commercial purposes.
Are the director, stage designer and costume designer entitled to royalties for a public performance?
The author is entitled to royalties for every use of the work, including public performance. The director, the set designer and the costume designer are entitled to royalties for the public performance on stage when this is provided for in the contract with the client.
If I become a member of LATGA, will royalties be collected for the public performance of the works and for the previous period?
Once you become a member of LATGA, royalties for the public performance and publication of works are calculated only from the date of membership.
Are you the author of the work, or do you want to use the work?
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