Every country has its own copyright laws. Therefore, if you work internationally as an artist, you are always confronted with foreign copyright regulations. 

The laws of another country may apply depending on where you exploit your intellectual property, where someone has infringed your copyrights, or whether you have contractually agreed to apply the law of a particular country. Many countries have concluded international agreements to define certain basic rules surrounding copyright law.

The European Union has also issued harmonised standards that apply to the exploitation/infringement of copyrights relating to EU/EEA countries. These also apply in Austria. 

The following sections provide you with an overview of these standards.

International copyright agreements

Many countries have concluded international agreements to ensure common basic rules in some areas of copyright law. These basic rules apply in all countries that have signed the agreements. The most important agreements include the Universal Copyright Convention, the (revised) Berne Convention, and the TRIPS Agreement.

In most countries, the territoriality principle applies. This means that the law of the country in which the use of the artwork or the infringement of the artist's copyright takes place is decisive for the existence, content, and expiry of the copyright. Whether your work of art is protected by copyright and the extent of this protection differs from country to country. 

Info: The territoriality principle applies in the following countries, for example: EU/EEA member states, Switzerland, USA, Mexico, Japan, China, Argentina, and many more. Click on this link for the complete list of all contracting states.

When artists conclude contracts on the use of their works under copyright law, they can stipulate that the law of the country where their artwork is used shall not apply, but instead agree with their contractual partners that the law of a specific country shall apply.

To do: Find out about the specific copyright laws of the respective country.

According to European Union law

The European Union has issued numerous directives and regulations to standardise copyright law and thus the rules for the protection of works of art within the EU and the EEA. This is also referred to as the harmonisation of copyright law. In addition, almost all EU/EEA states have signed the treaties mentioned in the chapter on international copyright agreements.

This means that the member states have agreed on certain minimum copyright standards. Wherever the law of a member state is applicable, the agreed minimum standards therefore apply. To this end, the EU has

  • developed certain basic principles and
  • issued rules for the establishment of collecting societies.

One such important basic principle is that wherever a work of art is protected under the rules of an EU/EEA country, the protection period lasts at least 70 years. However, the member states may provide for a longer period.

In the following chapters you will find information on the exploitation and infringement of copyrights (see the relevant chapter) under European Union law.

According to Austrian law

In Austria, copyright law is regulated in detail in the Copyright Act (UrhG). As Austria is part of the EU and the EEA, the minimum standards issued by the EU surrounding copyright apply. See the chapter on copyright protection according to European Union law.

In the following chapters you will find answers to the following questions:

  • Does the copyright protection of my artwork depend on my nationality?
  • Which works of art are protected by copyright?
  • What rights do I have as an author or ancillary copyright holder?
  • What can I do if someone infringes my rights?
  • How can I commercially exploit my artworks in practice?