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What is AISGE?
AISGE (Artistas Intérpretes, Entidad de Gestión de Derechos de Propiedad Intelectual) is the only Collective Management Organisation in Spain currently managing the intellectual property rights of actors, dubbers, dancers, and stage directors.
Specifically, AISGE manages the rights of these groups of performers when their performances or subject-matter, fixed in phonograms, works and/or audiovisual recordings (films, series, documentaries, etc.), are protected under the Intellectual Property Law (TRLPI).
What is the Repertoire Managed by AISGE?
AISGE’s repertoire refers to the set of artistic performances (performances or subject-matter) protected under the Intellectual Property Law, included in AISGE’s scope of management, subject to the applicable administrative and legal limits, as well as the limits imposed by the articles of association.
Currently, from a personal perspective, AISGE’s repertoire is comprised of the subject-matter of actors, dancers, dubbers, and stage directors. From an objective perspective, it includes the abovementioned subject-matter when it is incorporated into audiovisual recordings and phonograms protected under the TRLPI.
Information about the repertoire is available on AISGE’s website (www.aisge.es), specifically in the USUARIOS REPERTORIO – REPERTORIO GESTIONADO section, where a list of works and right-holders, as well as agreements with foreign entities and organisations, may be accessed. While this provides an approximate idea of the repertoire managed by AISGE, the information is not complete, as the repertoire is changing daily.
What are the Rights Managed by AISGE?
AISGE manages the remuneration rights (Art. 108, in relation to Art.20, of the TRLPI) of actors, dubbers, dancers, and stage directors generated by the acts of communication to the public and of making available carried out by, among others,
AISGE also manages the equitable remuneration for private copying (Art. 25 of the TRLPI) through the Digital One-Stop Shop (VUD).
What is Communication to the Public?
Communication to the public is defined by law as any act whereby a plurality of people may access protected works without prior distribution of copies of the same.
By way of example, the following, among others, are acts of communication to the public generating the obligation to pay the rights managed by AISGE:
When is a Communication not Considered Public for the Purpose of the Payment of the Rights?
The TRLPI states that a communication is not considered public when it takes place in a strictly domestic location not integrated into or connected to any type of dissemination network.
Are Hotel Rooms Considered a “Domestic Location”?
No. Hotel rooms are not considered “strictly domestic” for the purposes of Art. 20.1 TRLPI. The Supreme Court (TS), following a ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), has determined that the distribution of a signal by means of TV sets in a hotel to customers staying in its rooms constitutes communication to the public, regardless of the technique used to transmit the signal.
Case law considers that retransmission occurs because the hotel receives or captures the original or primary TV signal, and then transmits —retransmits— it to the TV sets installed in the rooms. This communication is directed at a new public, consisting of a plurality of individuals, which is undetermined and cannot be determined, making up the clientele, whose plurality is shown in a cumulative manner in terms of space (the group of customers occupying different rooms in the hotel) and time (successive customers occupying the rooms and having access to the signal), as they have the accessibility –potentiality– to receive the signal disseminated.
Who Must Pay the Rights of Communication to the Public and Making Available?
In general, those carrying out acts of communication to the public of audiovisual works and/or recordings and phonograms comprising AISGE's repertoire are obliged to pay these rights, in accordance with the TRLPI.
Among others, the following are users of AISGE’s repertoire and must pay the rights managed by AISGE:
Are We Required to Pay the Remuneration?
The Intellectual Property Law (TRLPI) grants actors, dancers, dubbers, and stage directors a remuneration right for the communication to the public of their performances fixed in phonograms or audiovisual recordings, such as films, series, musicals, documentaries, and so forth (Art. 108 TRLPI).
Therefore, if you carry out acts of communication to the public of phonograms, audiovisual works and/or recordings included in AISGE’s repertoire (e.g., exploiting a movie theatre, being the owner of an establishment with TV screens, or the owner of an online plaform), you must pay remuneration rights to AISGE.
We Have a Establishment with Several TV Sets which only Receive TV Signals. Do We Have to Pay AISGE?
Yes. If an establishment has one or more TV sets installed allowing customers to view audiovisual recordings (films, series, videoclips, etc.) containing performances of actors, dancers, dubbers, or stage directors, the owner of the business is legally obliged to pay remuneration to performers, pursuant to Art. 108.5 of the Intellectual Property Law (TRLPI). Furthermore, AISGE is the only Spanish CMO legally authorised to manage this right.
How Can We Regularise Our Situation with AISGE?
If your company carries out activities generating rights in favour of performers represented by AISGE, as it carries out acts of communication to the public of phonograms, audiovisual works and/or recordings including their performances, you must pay the corresponding rights, as provided in the Intellectual Property Law (TRLPI).
In AISGE we are available to provide you with the necessary information and advice to help you comply with your legal obligation of payment.
We Are Already Paying Other Collective Management Organisations. Do We Also Have to Pay AISGE?
Yes. The rights managed by each CMO belong to different categories of right-holders. Most audiovisual recordings communicated to the public by TV sets, cinema theatres, or online platforms contain multiple concurrent artistic subject-matter protected by the Intellectual Property Law, and each of them generates the corresponding remuneration right for each right-holder.
These rights are managed by different CMOs, depending on the group of right-holders included in their repertoires. Therefore, and taking into account that each CMO manages the rights of those right-holders who have entrusted said management to them, you must pay the corresponding rights to each CMO.
Each CMO must make effective the intellectual property rights of the groups within its scope of management (e.g., music or audiovisual authors, music performers, audiovisual performers). AISGE is the only CMO authorised in Spain to manage the rights of actors, dubbers, dancers, and stage directors.
For more information on CMOs, you may visit the Ministry’s website:
We Have Contracted Pay-TV Services (Movistar, Vodafone, Orange, etc.). Do We Still Need to Pay AISGE?
Yes. AISGE manages the remuneration rights generated by the communication to the public carried out by TV operators, as well as those generated by the communication to the public through TV sets installed in establishments open to the public.
To this effect, the type of TV channel (private, public, or subscription-based) is irrelevant, because the subscription service contracted by the owner of the establishment does not include the payment of the rights managed by AISGE for the communication to the public that you carry out in the establishment.
What Are General Tariffs?
Collective Management Organisations are legally bound to establish general tariffs determining the remuneration required for the use of their repertoire (Art. 164 TRLPI).
AISGE’s General Tariffs are approved by the Board and notified to the Ministry. The General Tariffs are published here.
How Can We Send the Statement to Pay the Fair Remuneration for Private Copying?
Private copying debtors must contact www.ventanillaunica.digital for the submission of quarterly private copying statements, as well as for any queries or clarifications regarding the fair remuneration for private copying.
We Have Received an Invoice from AISGE and We Do Not Agree with the Amount, What Can We Do About It?
Depending on the sector of your business, you may contact us by phone or by e-mail as indicated below, explaning the reasons for your disagreement with the amount (a discrepancy in the number of TVs, seats or beds, opening periods, ceasing of the activity, etc.).
In case AISGE agrees with your request, it will issue a new invoice in accordance with the information provided.
We Have Received a Letter from AISGE Claiming the Payment of Rights, but We Disagree with Its Content because our Business Activity Is Not What the Letter Describes. How Can We Inform AISGE of This Situation?
You may contact AISGE at the email address and/or at the phone number indicated below, where we will answer your query and advise you on how to proceed.
How Do We Pay the Invoices?
You may choose among bank direct debit, bank transfer, or deposit in bank account.
If you choose DIRECT DEBIT, you must request the Direct Debit Mandate Form (SEPA) from AISGE and return it signed.
If you choose BANK TRANSFER or DEPOSIT IN BANK ACCOUNT, you must address the payment to Artistas Intérpretes, Entidad de Gestión de Derechos de Propiedad Intelectual (AISGE), using the bank account details specified on the invoice. When making the payment, you must include the following details in the payment reference field:
Additionally, please send by email the proof of the bank transfer or deposit in bank account, stating in the subject “COMPANY NAME - payment of outstanding invoices”.
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