Categories of works
For users of audiovisual works
As a collective administration organisation, LATGA represents more than 800 Lithuanian and hundreds of thousands of foreign authors of audiovisual works (directors, scriptwriters, dialogue writers, cinematographers, painters, authors of music specially composed for an audiovisual work) and producers.
A frame of the film "Fanaberia. Switch on the light". Director Laura Tamošiūnaitė-Šakalienė
2021 © Photograph by Raimundas AdžgauskasFilm "Milkbar". Director Urtė Oettinger
2020 © Urtė OettingerA frame of the film "Katu Katu". Director Giedrė Narušytė-Boots
It is more fun to enjoy the works legally
Administered rights
We administer the following rights for authors and producers of audiovisual (AV) works:
retransmission of AV works and recordings;
the right to receive remuneration for reproducing works for private purposes;
the publication or making available to the public of AV works and recordings thereof on the Internet (VOD (only for AV works, not recordings) and for the provision of online services ancillary to retransmission) VOD rates
public display of works and recordings of works of authorship in places of accommodation AV rates for hotels
In order to use AV works or recordings in one of these ways, an agreement with LATGA on the use of the LATGA AV repertoire and the remuneration of authors and producers is needed.
Licences for other uses
Although the author of the film is a member of LATGA or a foreign author represented by LATGA on the basis of agreements with foreign collecting societies, in most cases we cannot grant permission to use the film or other audiovisual work or any part thereof, because the authors delegate to the producers their proprietary rights to authorise or prohibit the use of the work, as provided for in Article 11(2) of the Law on Copyright and Related Rights. Only the rights holder, i.e. the producer (or his/her authorised distributor), may decide who can use or not use the work, in what way, and under what conditions, therefore permissions should be sought from them.
In almost all cases of public use of an AV work, a licence from LATGA is required for the right to publicly exploit the musical works recorded on the soundtrack of the AV work. In such cases please contact the Licensing Section of the Musical Works Division. You can see the rates here: cinemas.
Distribution of films
We are the official distributor of certain films from US film studios and can license the public performance (exhibition) of these films at various types of events that take place outside cinemas.
LATGA, through its partners Filmbank Distributors Limited (a joint venture between Warner Bros. Entertainment, Sony Pictures Releasing and NT Digital Partners) is authorised to grant licences for the right to publicly perform (screen) films of the represented repertoire in various public places in Lithuania. Our licence entitles us to screen the specific films we represent at events of all kinds, which are not held in cinemas, but in other indoor or outdoor venues, with or without an admission fee.
Vilma Juraškienė
Head of Audiovisual Works Department
Frequently asked questions
Where do I go to get permission to use an audiovisual work?
Whether or not a producer is a member of a collecting society, they manage their fundamental rights individually. No matter how famous the film director is, it is not the director nor the collecting society representing them that you should look for, but rather the specific producer/distributor of the film. For example, if you want to use the film “Laiko Tiltai” by the renowned director Audrius Stonys, you should contact their production company, Ultra Nominum, instead of the director or the association representing their rights. Similarly, to use Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Great Beauty”, reach out to the production company, Indigo Film, rather than the director or LATGA, the association representing their rights in Lithuania. We recommend that you always start with the authorised producers or distributors, as they may restrict certain films from being screened for various reasons (e.g., the exclusive cinema screening period might not have expired yet).
Where can I find contacts of producers/distributors?
You can easily use internet search engines to find information about producers or distributors of a film. Please note that the property rights of films produced in the Lithuanian Film Studio between 1940 and 2004 belong to the Lithuanian Film Centre. You can find foreign film producers at www.imdb.com or by using a Google search. LATGA can also provide information on the producer if the film is registered in an international database of audiovisual works accessible only to international collecting societies, but this will only be the name of the producing company (without contact details).
Can I publicly show a film downloaded from a legal website or purchased on DVD (at a community event, library)?
Films posted on film websites or DVDs on sale are intended for private viewing (the cover of the DVD is usually labelled “Home Video”). For public screenings, you must obtain permission from the rights holders (usually the producer of the film).
Can I use an excerpt from another work in my own work if it is freely available online? From an archive?
Regardless of where you are going to take the work from (which “drawer”), what matters is how you are going to use it. If you intend to publicly display a work you have created that uses an excerpt (music, footage) from a previously created work, you must get permission from the rights holder of the work found on the internet or in the archive.
Is it true that there is a fixed duration for the use of an extract of another work (e.g. 3, 5 or 10 seconds) where it is not necessary to obtain the author’s permission to use it in your film or TV programme?
Unfortunately, this is just a common myth. The length of the work you want to use is irrelevant, and the consent of the rights holders is required.
Are you the author of the work, or do you want to use the work?
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