Tips and advice
Keep control over your contracts
Let our legal team give you advice when you are negotiating a contract and consult our specialists before you sign it.
Do not assign your rights in their entirety and for an indefinite period.
Rights reservation clause in the audiovisual sector
Don’t forget to include a provision in your contracts stipulating that the broadcast, video-on-demandMeans of communication in digital networks allowing the user to access audiovisual works of a provider from digital databases from anywhere, at any point in time. Compared to pay-per-view and near-on-video-on-demand, the offer is not linked to any chronological order determined by a programme. This procedure requires temporary reproduction of data on various technical media. and reproduction rights are to be administered by SSA in certain countries (for a list of the countries, please see model contracts).
Work registration
Make sure you register your works with SSA in time so that the use of your works can be monitored. Furthermore, the work registrationRegistration of any information relating to a work necessary for the collection and distribution of the works' rights remuneration also serves the purpose to establish any potential co-authorships of third parties and determines the distribution keyAgreement defining the manner in which the rights are distributed among the rights owners in cases where there is more than one rights owner between all parties.
How to declare works used abroad
Please alert us to any foreign-language uses of your works that you know of; in fact, any information we receive on foreign uses is helpful.
How to register specific uses
Please inform us if you find out about your works being used, but have possibly not been registered by the users, such as adaptations, translations, partial uses of the workIntellectual property creation in literature and art (as well as computer programmes) exhibiting an individual and therefore unique character. Said individual character is the prerequisite that a work can be protected. in another workIntellectual property creation in literature and art (as well as computer programmes) exhibiting an individual and therefore unique character. Said individual character is the prerequisite that a work can be protected., recordings of publicly performed works, reproductions, digital use via internet etc.
Rights assignment
To be a full member of SSA means that our members are obliged to let SSA handle all licensing agreements and collection processes. This applies automatically to all works created after you have joined SSA.
Authors = Producers
Special conditions apply if the authors are producers of a performance at the same time and also in cases where the authorNatural person creating a work is the same person as the performing artist.