Copyright

The Dutch Copyright Act (Auteurswet) automatically protects the copyright of works of literature, science or art from the moment the work is created, on condition that the work in question is an original work. Copyright is free of charge and the protection applies internationally. The creators are not required to register or file their work. Examples of work that may be protected by copyright include texts, works of art, leaflets, videos and other promotional material, photographs, software, jewellery, drawings, scale models and constructions. Copyright ceases to apply 70 years after the death of the work’s creator.

Collective management

Most authors of work (including composers, musicians and film makers) exercise their copyrights through a collective management organisation such as the Bureau of Musical Copyright (Buma), the Dutch Foundation for the Exploitation of Neighbouring Rights (Sena), the Reprographic Reproduction Rights Foundation (Stichting Reprorecht) or the Dutch Private Copying Society (Stichting de Thuiskopie). These collective management organisations are affiliated to the Association of Organisations for the Collective Management of Intellectual Property Rights (Vereniging van Organisaties die Intellectueel eigendom Collectief Exploiteren, VOI©E).

If you wish to file a complaint against any of these collective management organisations as a user of work protected under copyright law, you must first contact the relevant organisation. If your complaint has either not been settled or has not been properly settled, you can contact VOI©E.