If you want to stay and work in Austria for more than 6 months, a visa is no longer sufficient. You need a residence permit. Depending on how long you want to stay and what job you want to do, you will need a specific type of residence permit.

There are three categories of residence permits:

• Residence permits
• Red-White-Red Cards (this is a type of settlement permit) and Blue Cards
• Settlement permits

In the following sub-chapters you will learn about

• the general requirements that apply to all residence permits,
• which residence permits are relevant for artists and cultural workers, and
• the specific requirements that you must fulfil for the respective residence permit.

As a basis, you must fulfil the same requirements for all residence permits:

• You need to prove you have a secure livelihood. This means that your financial resources must be sufficient in order to reach the required amounts.
• You must have accommodation.
• You must have health insurance coverage.

There must be no threat to public order or security.You must submit the following documents when applying for your residence permit: 

• Completed application
• Valid passport
• Birth certificate or corresponding document
• For first-time applications: extract from the criminal record
• Current passport photo (not older than 6 months; format: 45x35mm)
• If applicable: marriage certificate, partnership certificate, certificate of adoption, certificate of divorce, deed of dissolution of the registered partnership, death certificate
• Proof of a secure livelihood
• (mostly) Proof of locally customary accommodation
• Proof of health insurance coverage

People who come from countries outside of the EEA are also called third-country nationals. 

Info: Switzerland is neither part of the EU nor the EEA and is therefore, strictly speaking, a third country. However, Swiss nationals are largely on an equal footing with EU citizens thanks to international treaties, meaning that Switzerland is not considered a third country in the scope of labour law. 

Access to the labour market is regulated differently for artists and cultural workers from third countries than for EU/EEA citizens. However, as soon as third-country nationals are legally resident in Austria and have a work permit, they have the same labour law rights as everyone else.

If, as an artist or cultural worker, you hold the nationality of a third country, you need the following:

• Permission to stay in Austria (visa or residence permit, depending on the length of stay). See the chapter on visas and residence. Residence and settlement of third-country nationals is regulated in the Settlement and Residence Act (NAG), the Federal Act on the Exercise of Aliens’ Police (FPG), and the Asylum Act (AsylG).
• A work permit in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Act on the Exercise of Aliens’ Police (AuslBG; or a residence permit with free access to the labour market). If you work in the context of
  • salaried employment (e.g. an employment contract as a labourer or employee),
  • an employee-like relationship (e.g. a so-called freelance contract), provided that the activity is not carried out on the basis of trade law regulations, or
  • a training relationship (e.g. internships or traineeships. Be aware that as long as there is no entitlement to remuneration, no authorisation is required),
• your future employer must submit an application for a permit to the Public Employment Service (AMS). The permit is issued for a maximum of one year and is valid for the entire federal territory (a new application is required if your job changes).
  There are exceptions, e.g. if you are only employed in Austria for a one-day artistic performance. See the chapter on visas and residence.
• If you want to be self-employed, you do not need a work permit (be aware that even if you are self-employed, you must comply with the legal provisions for foreign nationals).
  • "New self-employed” people who earn a taxable income but do not run a business are subject to income tax. You must register with the Austrian tax office to obtain a tax number and register at Finanzonline, their online portal
  • If you want to run a business, you also need a trade licence. You can find details on this in the section "Do I need a trade licence?". 

Certain relatives of Austrians, EU/EEA citizens, and Swiss citizens are excluded from the scope of application of the Act Governing the Employment of Foreign Nationals. No work permit is therefore required for

•  third-country national spouses/registered partners with the right to reside in Austria, and
• children (including adopted children and stepchildren) with the right to reside in Austria who are under the age of 21 or receiving maintenance.

Upon request, the AMS must provide these people with a statement to confirm that they can work in Austria without a work permit.

Special rules for artists 

Artists from third countries are provided with a residence permit, "Settlement Permit - Artist", which authorises temporary settlement and the pursuit of gainful employment or self-employment. 

• Employment: as an artist who is a third-country national, an application for a "Settlement Permit - Artist" must be submitted together with a written declaration from your future employer before you enter Austria. It must either be submitted by the artist to the competent Austrian representation authority abroad (embassy or consulate), or to the AMS by the employer in Austria. Applications for family members can also be submitted at the same time.
• Self-employment: in order to obtain a settlement permit as a self-employed artist, your activity must consist primarily of artistic creation. You must be able to prove that you can earn your living from this activity and provide evidence of the contracts underpinning this activity, your artistic training, or a description of your previous artistic activity.

Special features: 

• Artists do not require a work permit for work lasting up to eight weeks as part of an overall artistic production (e.g. concert, theatre performance). It is possible for them to carry our several consecutive jobs with different employers without a permit.

Self-employment is an option when working in any field of art. Visual artists tend to work independently because they usually create works of art for a fee or sell finished paintings. However, stage and costume designers, cabaret artists, and book authors are also usually self-employed. Writers who perform readings or musicians who regularly perform in various concert halls are self-employed, too.

If you are self-employed as an artist, you conclude contracts for work and labour with your clients. If you undertake to produce a specific work in return for payment, this is a contract for work and labour. The only thing that matters is the agreed result. How you achieve this result is—unlike with employment contracts—solely your decision. 

If you conclude a contract for work and labour, you are an entrepreneur and therefore personally independent. The characteristics of a contract for work and labour and self-employment are:

• You have your own business infrastructure and your own resources (e.g. depending on the type of art, you have a website, a studio, a rehearsal room, a recording studio, your own instruments, your own equipment);
• You have regularly changing clients;
• You will not be integrated into any company;
• You owe a certain success;
• You have (artistic) creative freedom; you decide for yourself how to achieve this success;
• You may call in employees or subcontractors;
• You warrant that your work is free from defects;
• If your work fails, you are responsible for it. 

Example: You play in a band and an organiser hires you for a concert. Although the venue and time are specified or negotiated, there is no integration into the organisation. In terms of content, you can design the programme yourself with your band and possibly hire a substitute. You and your band members act independently on your own account, and at your own risk. This is a contract for work and labour.

Freelance contracts are not defined in a law, but in practice they can be categorised as a mixture between a contract for work and labour and an employment contract. The difference between this and an employment contract is that freelancers perform their work independently.

In contrast to a contract for work and labour, you are not obliged to provide a specific one-off result, but rather deliver diligent, long-term work performance. 

However, unlike with an employment contract, you can also organise the course of your work independently and without being bound by instructions. Characteristics of service delivery without personal dependence include

• Independence in terms of working hours, place of work, and behaviour at work;
• No powers of control for employers;
• Only loosely integrated into the company;
• You can be substituted;
• You can refuse work.

Example: You are a proofreader or playwright and can provide pre-defined services based on a specific assignment without having to adhere to set working hours or a designated work location.

 

Labour law entitlements

Freedom of contract applies when concluding a freelance contract. This means that contractual conditions and special services can be freely negotiated. 

Attention: There are no collective labour agreements for freelance contracts and works agreements do not apply.

As a freelancer, you have no entitlements under labour law. You are therefore not entitled to holidays, continued payment of wages in the event of illness, collectively agreed wages, or special payments. However, these benefits can be contractually agreed. 

• If you do not receive a written (freelance) contract and your activity lasts for more than one month, your contractor is obliged to provide you with a service note at the start of your engagement, which contains all the essential rights and obligations arising from the contractual relationship.
• Your contractor must pay a monthly amount for you into a provision  fund ("new severance pay"). These accumulated amounts are paid out upon termination of the working relationship. It does not matter by whom and for what reason the working relationship is terminated.
• The employment prohibitions in the Maternity Leave Act (MSchG) apply to pregnant women and mothers. 

If you and your contractor have not reached an agreement on notice periods, the termination provisions for employees apply:

• The contractual relationship may be terminated by the employer on a quarterly basis unless a more favourable agreement has been reached for the freelancer. Notice of termination can be agreed to take effect on the 15^th or on the last day of the month.
• The notice period to be observed by the employer increases with the duration of the freelance relationship. These are as follows: six weeks in the 1^st and 2^nd year of service, two months from the 3^rd year of service, three months from the 6^th year of service, four months from the 16^th year of service, and five months from the 26^th year of service.
• As a freelancer, you can terminate your working relationship by giving one month's notice as per the last day of each calendar month.
• If there is a compelling reason, you can terminate your freelance employment contract at any time without notice. 

Attention: Freelancers are compulsorily insured for pension, health, accident, and unemployment in the same way as salaried employees. However, this does not apply to freelancers who essentially work with their own resources (like many artists) and are therefore insured as "new self-employed" people. There is also an exception for artists within the scope of the Artists' Social Insurance Fund Act. See the chapter on social security.

An employment contract can be concluded for a set term or for an indefinite period.

As an employee, you owe your employer your diligent work performance. You do not have to achieve a specific result, as is the case with a contract for work and labour. 

In order to know whether you are working as an employee, you must check whether you are working in personal dependency. This means that it is not you but your employer who decides where you work, what your working hours are, and what your work-related behaviour should be. The following characteristics are decisive:

• You are integrated into the operational organisation and hierarchy of your employer(s);
• Your employer can give you instructions; you must follow them (obligation to follow instructions);
• You are obliged to carry out the work yourself and cannot provide a substitute (personal obligation to perform);
• Your employer can control whether and in what form you carry out your work (subject to control);
• As an employee, you have disciplinary responsibility.

The characteristics can vary in intensity. It is a flexible system. What is important is whether personal dependency predominates in the overall assessment. 

In the case of an employment relationship, for example, free time management or working from home can be agreed upon. However, if employees can generally be substituted and actually exercise this option, this is not an employment relationship because there is no personal dependency whatsoever.

When artists, such as singers, musicians, or actors 

• work according to fixed rehearsal and performance schedules,
• commit themselves for one season,
• follow the instructions of the director or the conductor regarding the number of rehearsals and rehearsal times, and
• are bound by the type of work performed,

it is usually an employment contract.

For these reasons, orchestra, choir, and ballet ensemble members who regularly work at the same venue are generally to be qualified as genuine employees. Musicians who are responsible for the evening entertainment at a holiday club several times a week for a period of three months with a partly predetermined repertoire are also to be qualified as genuine employees.

Example: You work as an actor at a theatre. You must attend rehearsals and performances at certain times from February to June and follow the director’s instructions. You are a salaried employee on the basis of an employment contract and are therefore not self-employed.

Example: You are an author and are invited to read from your novel at the Künstlerhaus on 28^th February. You are free to organise the content of the reading (which passages you read and how you present them). Although the place and time are precisely defined, you are not integrated into the company. At most, your client can give you factual instructions, but not instructions regarding content. This is not an employment contract, but a contract for work and labour. You are therefore self-employed. 

 

Labour law entitlements

Artists and cultural workers in employment relationships are generally bound by labour law.

There are special labour laws for certain industries. For example, special working time regulations apply to people who work in theatres. These are regulated in the Theatre Employment Act (TAG). The interest group IG Freie Theaterarbeit published an information brochure on this in 2015.

If there is a collective agreement for the sector in which artists and cultural workers are employed, their employers must comply with the minimum standards stipulated therein.

• There is no statutory minimum wage in Austria. Instead, the organisations representing the interests of employees in the respective sector (trade unions) negotiate with the organisations representing the interests of employers. In these negotiations, they agree on a collective agreement for the respective industry. This sets minimum standards—and also a minimum wage rate—for the industry: regardless of citizenship or any membership in a trade union. The collective agreement to be applied therefore depends not only on the activity, but also on the employer’s industry and thus their trade licence.
• However, many (smaller) organisations (e.g. cultural associations) are not subject to collective agreements. There are therefore no minimum standards for them. For this reason, great attention has been paid in recent years to the development of separate fair-pay systems for the cultural sector. Guidelines on how artists and cultural workers should be fairly remunerated have been developed for employment in various fields of art. For detailed information, visit the Austrian Cultural Council’s website or the Interessengemeinschaft für Kultur’s homepage.
• The employer must disclose the collective agreement applicable to their organisation Click on this link to view all the relevant collective agreements for artists working in Austria. The following are some of the most important collective agreements for artists:
  • Collective agreement for musicians
  • Collective agreements for the staff of federal theatres
  • Collective agreement for film professionals

In addition, minimum standards can also be laid down in works agreements. A works agreement is an agreement between the company you work for and its works council. The works council is elected by the employees and represents their interests vis-à-vis the employer.

How your labour law entitlements are regulated in detail therefore depends on whether special labour laws apply to your employment relationship, whether there is a collective agreement for your industry, and whether your company has concluded a works agreement. Typically, you are entitled to the following benefits:

• Minimum wage;
• Overtime allowances;
• Special payments;
• Continued payment of remuneration in the event of incapacity to work;
• Public holiday pay;
• Holidays and holiday pay.

 

The Austrian social security system distinguishes between four different categories of insurance coverage. Depending on whether and how you are insured, you have insurance coverage in the following categories: 

• Health
• Accident
• Pension
• Unemployment 

If you are legally resident and working in Austria, you are covered by social security, regardless of your nationality, if you exceed a certain income threshold. As you are compulsorily insured, this is also referred to as compulsory insurance.  Anyone who is insured must pay insurance contributions in order to obtain insurance coverage.

Depending on whether you are employed or self-employed, you are insured according to different statutory regulations. This means that you are not free to choose your insurance, but the type of work you do determines your insurance relationship:

• Employees who work for private employers must be insured under the General Social Security Act (ASVG). The following three social security providers are responsible for them: the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK) for health insurance, the General Accident Insurance Institution (AUVA) for accident insurance, and the Pension Insurance Institution (PVA) for pension insurance.
• Employees who work for the Austrian state are insured under the Civil Servants' Sickness and Accident Insurance Act (B-KUVG). They have health and accident insurance with the Insurance Institution for Public-Service Employees, Railway and Mining Workers (BVAEB). Their pension insurance is with the Pension Insurance Institution (PVA).
• Self-employed people are insured under the Social Insurance Act for Commerce and Trade (GSVG). Their social security provider is the Social Security Institution for the Self-employed (SVS).

Info: Austria’s Public Employment Service (AMS) is responsible for unemployment benefits. 

If you carry out different types of professional activity, you are also insured with different insurance providers at the same time (multiple insurance). See below for more information.

To be compulsorily insured, you must earn a certain minimum income. This minimum income is adjusted annually and is as follows for 2026: 

• €551.10 per month for self-employed people;
• €6,613.20  per year for self-employed people.

If your income is too low, you are not compulsorily insured. However, you can take out voluntary self-insurance.

Info:  If you are not compulsorily insured personally, but one of your relatives is compulsorily insured in Austria, you can be co-insured with this person. This is common for spouses and children, for example. 

 

In order for third-country nationals to be insured in Austria, they must first be legally resident in Austria. You can find out about the conditions under which this is possible in the visa & residence section. 

As soon as third-country nationals are legally resident in Austria, they are covered by social security to the same extent as Austrians.  

Attention: Please note that your insurance periods completed in third countries will only be recognised in Austria if there is a mutual agreement on the recognition of insurance periods in third countries. See the relevant chapter. 

Unlike Austrians, third-country nationals may only receive certain insurance benefits after a certain period of residence in Austria:

• If you want to draw a pension in Austria, you must have been insured for more than one year in Austria. If you fulfil this minimum period of residence, you can claim pension benefits under the same conditions as Austrian nationals. See the chapter on pensions.
• If you would like to receive minimum income benefits—state financial support in social emergencies—you must have been legally resident in Austria for at least five years. See the chapter on social emergencies.

If you are not self-employed in Austria—i.e. you have an employment contract—you are either subject to unlimited or limited tax liability.

Info: In Austria, nationality does not play a role in tax liability.

You are subject to unlimited tax liability if you are resident or ordinarily resident in Austria. You habitual residence is considered to be in Austria if you are not only staying there temporarily (e.g. on holiday or business trips), but for a longer period. If you stay for more than six months/183 days per year, Austria is assumed to be your habitual residence. People who do not have a place of residence in Austria therefore require an employment contract lasting at least six months or at least a six-month residence and work permit in order to establish their habitual residence in Austria. In these cases, unlimited tax liability applies retroactively, i.e. all income earned from the start of residence is subject to unlimited tax liability in Austria.

Info: See the chapter on visas & residence to find out whether you need a residence and work permit.

You are subject to limited tax liability if you are employed in Austria or receive other non-self-employed income such as a pension, even if are not resident or ordinarily resident in Austria. 

If you have limited tax liability, Austria can, under certain conditions, tax your income derived from employment in Austria. See the chapter on tax liability in multiple countries. 

Info: If you work as an employed artist on a cross-border basis, your income will be taxed in the country in which you carried out your work in accordance with most double taxation agreements. This also applies if your fee is not paid straight into your bank account, but is transferred to an artists’ agency, for example. 

For the specific calculation and amount of tax payable for unlimited and limited taxpayers, see the subchapter on the taxation of employed people’s income.

If you are self-employed in Austria, you are either subject to unlimited or limited tax liability. 

Info: In Austria, nationality does not play a role in tax liability.

You are subject to unlimited tax liability if you are resident or ordinarily resident in Austria. Your habitual residence is considered to be in Austria if you stay there for more than six months/183 days a year. 

If you have unlimited tax liability, Austria generally has the right to tax your entire worldwide income. Above a certain level of income, you must file an income tax return. On the basis of this declaration, the tax office determines how much profit you made from your self-employed activity in the respective tax year and taxes this profit. See the subchapter on income tax.

You are subject to limited tax liability if you are self-employed in Austria but do not have a residence or habitual abode there. If you are subject to limited tax liability, Austria may tax the self-employed income you receive in Austria under certain conditions. See the subchapter on foreigner’s withholding tax.

Attention: If you work across borders, you must check whether Austria and the country in which you are resident for tax purposes have concluded a double taxation agreement. This regulates which country has the right to tax certain income. See the subchapter on tax liability in multiple countries.

There are many different types of taxes in Austria. The following chapters present the types of taxes that artists and cultural workers who are employed and liable for tax in Austria most frequently come into contact with: 

• Taxation on income
  • People’s income from employment is subject to payroll tax.
  • People’s income from self-employment is subject to income tax.
  • Legal entities’ (i.e. companies such as associations) income from self-employment is subject to corporation tax.
• Taxation on goods and services
  • When purchasing goods and services, you usually pay value added tax (VAT).
  • Under certain conditions, self-employed individuals are obliged to charge VAT to their customers and transfer it to the tax office.
  • Employed individuals do not have to deal with VAT. 

Civil law governs the legal relationships between private individuals. Contract law is part of civil law. By concluding contracts, you organise your daily life and your professional activity (e.g. by concluding sales contracts, service contracts, contracts for work, etc.).

In Austria, the principle of freedom of contract applies. This means that contracts can be freely negotiated between the contracting parties. However, there are individual mandatory legal regulations that prohibit certain content (e.g. due to illegality or immorality, labour law regulations, or mandatory provisions in copyright law).

Example: In most industries, collective agreements apply. These stipulate certain minimum standards for the employment of workers. If you work in this industry or have employees yourself, the employment contracts must fulfil these minimum standards (e.g. minimum wage, remuneration, and maximum working hours). See the chapter on labour law. 

Example: According to Austrian copyright law, contracts stipulating the transfer of your entire copyright on a work of art to another person are invalid. Only you can be the author. You can, however, authorise other parties to commercially exploit your work of art. See the chapter on copyright.

A contract can also be made up of elements from various legally regulated contracts. These are referred to as mixed contracts. In this case, the appropriate contract law applies to each part of the contract as normal. Accordingly, a mixed contract can be subject to several types of contract law. 

In the unlikely event that a contract is so far removed from the law that a completely new type of legal relationship arises, only the general provisions on contracts are applicable. This is an atypical contract. 

Most contracts are concluded without any formal requirements. This means that contracts can be concluded in writing, verbally, or implied (conclusive, tacit). However, we always recommend the written form for reasons of proof. Please make sure that you always have everything documented and that you are in possession of the contracts that you conclude.

Example: When you place a product on a conveyor belt in the supermarket, you are signalling that you want to buy the product; you do not have to verbally express your intention to buy it to the cashier. The employee charges you for the product, you pay, and you receive a payment receipt. Although you and the employee have not communicated verbally or in writing about the purchase, it is clear to everyone involved that a purchase has been made. In the case of purchases in shops, sales contracts are therefore concluded implicitly (conclusively, tacitly). As a rule, no written contract is drawn up here, only a payment receipt is issued. 

In certain cases, the contract must be concluded in a specific form (e.g. in writing in the presence of a notary) to protect the contracting parties.

Example: You set up a foundation to promote your art and transfer ownership of all your artwork to this foundation. The foundation declaration must be notarised.

Artists and cultural workers are therefore confronted with different types of contracts in their professional activities. 

Artists have various ways of earning money. They are often remunerated for their artistic accomplishments, for example concert performances, employment as actors, carrying out readings, or through the sale of their artwork. They can also commercially exploit the artistic works they have already created by authorising others to use these works under copyright law in return for payment (see the chapter on copyright). In addition, artists also commission external partners, such as artist agencies or artistic work intermediaries, to support them in their professional activities. 

Cultural workers are also confronted with different types of contracts, for example if they work in a publishing house and conclude licensing agreements with artists, organise exhibitions, or are employed by a cultural institution.

As you have already learnt in the subchapter on cross-border contracts and the subchapter on the applicable law, contract law varies from country to country. Regardless of the applicable law, there are certain types of contracts that you will find in most legal systems. Below you will find an overview of relevant contract types in the arts and culture sector and typical points that are regulated in these contracts.

Attention: If you are concluding  a cross-border contract, you should also refer to the information in the sub-chapter on cross-border contracts and the sub-chapter on the applicable law.

If your work of art is protected by copyright, you as the author are entitled to two different types of property rights:

• Moral rights: these protect your intellectual interests as the author of your work of art;
• Exploitation rights: these protect your economic interests and enable you to exploit your art, not least because you, as the author, can exclude others from using your works. Exploitation rights are also called exclusive rights or rights of use.
  • In addition to exploitation rights, there are also remuneration claims. These guarantee that you will receive remuneration in certain cases if the use cannot be prohibited.

If your work of art is not protected by copyright—for example, because it does not fulfil the criteria in the definition in Section 1 UrhG—it may be protected by ancillary copyright. Ancillary copyrights protect artistic productions that are not protected by copyright (e.g. an everyday photo, the artistic performance of singers). Some—but not all—of the rights enjoyed by authors are also granted to ancillary copyright holders. See the subchapter on ancillary copyrights.

In the following chapters, you will find information on the following topics:

• Moral rights
• Personal rights
• Exploitation rights
• Remuneration claims
• Ancillary copyrights

As already mentioned, authors cannot completely transfer their copyrights to other people by contract ("inter vivos"). Under Austrian law, copyrights are too closely linked to the author’s person. 

Info: In other countries, especially in the USA, a complete copyright transfer is in fact possible.

Although you cannot transfer your copyright, you can authorise other people to use your artwork with the following contractual agreements:

• Through the granting of rights of use;

or

• Through the granting of licenses for rights of use.
• Besides the limits of immorality (see the chapter on fair remuneration), the rules of interpretation are also important for contracts in copyright law: interpretation is used to determine the content and meaning of the contract. Rules of interpretation are important because contracts often do not conclusively regulate every detail.

Austrian legislation and case law tend to favour a copyright-friendly interpretation: if no clear provision has been made in the contract, it is assumed, in case of doubt, that the exploitation rights remain with the authors. It is assumed that the person who acquires rights of use does not acquire more rights in case of doubt than appear necessary for the fulfilment of the planned use of the work (transfer of purpose theory).

There are certain special rules for interpretation in copyright contract law. Here are two examples:

• In case of doubt, a licence to use a work does not include the right to edit it;
• In case of doubt, the acquisition of a piece of work does not include any rights to use the work.

Example: You are a freelance artist and sell a painting. The buyer becomes the owner of the work. Unless you have agreed otherwise, the buyer does not also acquire exploitation rights upon their purchase of the work. You reserve the right to commercially exploit your copyright to the work of art—e.g. reproduction, public communication, editing.  

In Austrian copyright law, freedom of form and (with a few exceptions) freedom of contract apply. This means that contracts can be structured as desired and can be concluded verbally, in writing, or tacitly (implied—i.e. through conclusive actions).

Example: If you are booked as a photographer for a photo shoot so that your client can use the photos in a catalogue, the rights of use for the photos in this catalogue are deemed to have been implicitly granted—even if you have not expressly agreed this.

In the following sections you will find information on the granting of rights of use for works and the granting of licences to use works. 

Section 37b of the Copyright Act contains a provision on the appropriate and proportionate remuneration of authors. This provision also applies to performing artists (Section 68 (4) of the Copyright Act).

This is intended to guarantee that artists receive fair and appropriate remuneration when others use their artworks or performances. 

Flat-fee remuneration is permissible if it if it gives sufficient consideration to the scope of the rights usage. Furthermore, remuneration is only appropriate if it corresponds to customary and fair market conditions. 

Example: You are a freelance artist, and a TV channel wants to make a documentary about your career and your art. They want to show some photos of your artwork in the documentary. The TV station would like to pay you a flat fee for reproducing, broadcasting, and making your works available to the public. This is permissible. The level of remuneration must be based on what is usually granted to other artists for the same scope of use.

Example: You are an actor. Your employment contract states that you agree to transfer all your rights to your future performances to your employer. This arrangement is permissible, but only if your granting of rights is fairly remunerated, for example by means of overpayment in accordance with collective agreements.

If rights holders belong to a professional group which has a collective agreement, the remuneration stipulated therein is deemed appropriate. Collecting societies can also issue remuneration regulations.

Info: For an explanation of the term ‘collective agreement’, see the chapter on labour law. 

The Austrian Cultural Council has also drawn up Fair Pay Guidelines to establish fair pay for people working in the field of arts and culture. Visit the  Austrian Cultural Council’s website for detailed information. 

In copyright law—as in many other areas of law—there are "immorality" limits. This means that contracts in which there is a blatant disproportion between performance and remuneration are invalid ("adhesion contracts"). If you have concluded a contract in which someone can use your works or your artistic performance for a particularly low, unfair fee, the contract could be deemed void and thus cancelled. 

Not every artistic project is protected by copyright—protection is only granted to works of art that meet the definition of copyright law. However, as you will see in the following chapter, this definition is very broad.

Info: If the artistic production does not qualify for copyright protection, it may be protected by ancillary copyrights. See the chapter on ancillary copyrights.

According to Section 1 of the Copyright Act, works of the following artistic genres are protected:

• Literature
• Sound art (music and musical works)
• Works of fine art
• Film art 

The term literature encompasses linguistic works of all kinds, including computer programmes, stage works (body language), and works of science and education, including two or three-dimensional representations, provided they are not classified as fine art.

Besides paintings and drawings, fine arts include works of architecture (buildings), applied arts (handicrafts such as furniture, jewellery, graphics), and works of photography.

Works of music enjoy protection regardless of how they are created (e.g. instruments, computer-generated sounds, human voice). The individual creative elements (e.g. melody, harmony, rhythm) and their combination can be original and therefore also protected by copyright. It is not only audible music itself that is protected, but also written music such as the content of scores. 

Works of cinematographic art (motion picture works) are also protected by copyright. These include films set to music, silent films, videos, and computer games. Screenplays are works of literature. The film adaptation of a screenplay is the conversion of the screenplay into a film work, and is considered an adaptation of the film (see the chapter on editing rights).

Info:  Works are not only protected as a whole—parts of them are also protected. 

In order for works of art to enjoy copyright protection, they must fulfil certain requirements. A work of art must be

• one’s own (original),
• an intellectual creation,
• objectively interpreted as art, and
• perceptible to the senses.

Perceptible to the senses means that mere ideas that have not yet come to fruition and are therefore not recognisable to others do not enjoy copyright protection. As soon as your work appears in any form, your copyright takes effect upon this act of creation. You are free to decide how your work of art is presented.

Example: You have an idea for a poem—this idea is not yet protected. As soon as you read your poem aloud or write it down, it is perceptible to the senses and protected by copyright from this "moment of creation". 
In US copyright law, works of art must have a certain material form. It would not be enough for you to recite your poem there—you would have to record it on a medium such as a piece of paper or a tape.

Thoughts, ideas, methods, systems, technical solutions, mathematical formulae, theories, teachings, findings, an artistic style, or other formal principles and the like are not protected by copyright. 

The owner of the copyright is the creator of the work. Under Austrian copyright law, this can only be a natural person, i.e. a human being. Legal entities (companies such as limited liability companies, universities, associations, museums) cannot be authors, even if they have commissioned the work. However, legal entities can have exploitation rights to the copyrighted creations (see the chapter on exploitation rights). 

Info: The situation is different in US copyright law. There, legal entities can also be owners of copyrights. In the case of commissioned works, it is even assumed that copyrights are held by the client, unless they have made a contractual agreement to the contrary ("work made for hire").

Info: People who are authorised to exploit a work are also referred to as rights holders. Since authors and ancillary rights holders can authorise other people to exploit artistic productions, the latter become rights holders in the scope of the permitted use.

In the case of anonymous and pseudonymous works, the author either does not provide a name or makes up a name. In such cases, the editors or publishers are deemed to manage the copyright.

Besides being created alone, works can also be produced together:

• If a work cannot be "broken down" into individual parts but represents an inseparable unit, all the artists involved are co-authors. All co-authors must agree on how they wish to exploit the work of art. However, if one person infringes the copyright of their joint work, each individual co-author can defend themselves against the infringement. See the subchapter How can I take action against infringements of my copyrights?
• An associated work is only "associated" and therefore separable. Each part of the associated work remains a work in its own right and does not constitute co-authorship of the other parts. Only the exploitation of the entire work is carried out jointly by the participating artists.

Example: You and another musician write a melody for a song together. This artistic creation forms an inseparable unit; you are co-authors.

Example: You and another musician write a song together: one of you composes the melody, the other writes the lyrics. The music and lyrics are a combined work because you can separate the melody from the lyrics. You are not co-authors of the song, but each of you is the author of your own part: lyrics or music. However, if you want to exploit the song commercially, you must do so together.

Does a copyright notice lead to copyright protection for my artwork? 

No, whether or not you attach a copyright notice has no bearing on the question of whether your work of art is protected by copyright. Your work is always automatically protected from the moment it is created. 

To do: However, a copyright notice is still recommended. This is because it may be of significance under the laws of other countries. In times of digital networking and distribution on the internet, a copyright notice serves to emphasise on the internet that the work is protected. 

Attention: A correct copyright notice looks like this: © + name of the copyright holder(s) + year of first publication of the work.

In Austrian law, a copyright notice also triggers the presumption of authorship (Section 2 UrhG): if your name is on your work of art, it is assumed that you are the author of the work until proven otherwise.

Example: You have created an artistic photograph and have not attached a copyright notice. Another person places a copyright notice on your photograph, stating that they—and not you—are the author of the photograph. Until you can prove that you took this photo, the other person is considered to be the author.

In practice, it is often difficult to provide counterevidence, although artists have developed methods to make this easier. You can deposit your original work or a copy of it (e.g. printout, photo, CD) with a notary, who can then confirm that you created this work of art for the first time. Alternatively, you can send this "proof" to yourself by post and keep it unopened. The postmark serves as proof that you created the work first ("priority").

Copyright is so closely linked to you as the author that you cannot contractually transfer it in Austria. You cannot sell, transfer, or assign your copyright, neither in part nor in full. As the creator, you retain this right until your death, and it then passes to your heirs. 

However, copyright is not a perpetual right. Copyright is only valid for a certain period and expires after a term of protection. Once this period has expired, your work becomes "public domain" and is therefore available to the general public. After the term of protection has expired, anyone can edit and utilise your released work as they wish.

The term of protection has been largely harmonised in the EU: a term of 70 years applies to copyright. The following applies to the start of the term of protection:

• As a rule, the term of protection begins upon your death. Your work enters into the public domain on the first day of the year following the 70^th anniversary of your death. In the case of co-authorship, the death of the last co-author triggers the term. This rule also applies to associated musical works. 

or

• The term of protection begins on the date of creation of the work if the work is anonymous or pseudonymous. The reason for this is that the author is not known and the start of the term of protection cannot be determined otherwise. This term begins again at the time of publication of the work of art, provided that the work is still published within the term of protection. 

Example: You have created a work, and it is known that you are the author. If you die on 18^th March 2047, the term of protection of your work ends on 1^st January 2118 and the work becomes public domain.

Example: You created a work of art on 18^th November 2000, but it is not known that you are the author. This may be because you wish to remain anonymous or use a pseudonym. Your work’s term of protection started upon its creation on 18^th November 2000. The provisional term of protection ends on 1^st January 2071. 
You published your work—still anonymously or under a pseudonym—on 23^rd June 2020. The term of protection therefore started anew and does not end until 1^st January 2091. 

The term of protection for ancillary copyrights is 50 or 70 years. See the subchapter on ancillary copyrights.