copyright of visual artists

The Finnish Copyright Act of 1961 is largely identical with that of the other Nordic countries.

According to the Act the author has the sole right to decide on the reproduction of his or her work and on the availability of the work or of any copies of the work.
The Act also protects the moral right of the author, paternity right and the respect of the created work.

An amendment of the Act, entered into force on 1 May 1995, gives the author and his or her assign the right (droit de suite) to a 5% share of the resale price when
the work is resold in Finland by a professional and public deal. The droit de suite shall remain in force for the duration of the copyright. At the same time the
protection of photographic works was elevated to the level of other works of visual art.

After the amendment the author of a work has the right to see and photograph any work of art previously sold (droit d'acc�s).

The exclusive right of visual artists is limited by certain provisions in the Copyright Act.

The permission is not required for the reproduction of a work in a criticism or in a scientific work, when reporting on the events of the day, for a reproduction, in which the role of the work in the picture is insignificant, nor in a notice on an exhibition or a sale. The artist shall be entitled to compensation for a reproduction of a
work that is permanentlydisplayed in public, if the work is reproduced mainly with a commercial intent, such as in a postcard.

 

Kuvasto ry:
Kuvasto is a copyright association for artists working in the field of visual art, founded in 1987 by the Artists' Association of Finland and its member organisations.

The organisation looks after and promotes the interests of artists working in the field of visual art, of which stipulations are made in the legislation on copyright and to promote the conditions for the making of visual art.

Clients

Kuvasto represents approx. 860 Finnish holders of rights, the representation being based on a client agreement. Any person, who has created an independent and
original work of visual art or another work of visual art protected by the copyright legislation may become an artist client of Kuvasto. On the basis of agreement
entered into with international sister organisations, Kuvasto is the representative in Finland of some 24,000 foreign artists.

User clients are, among others, publishers, arrangers of exhibitions, art museums and TV companies. The users enter into either a continuing agreement or an
agreement on one-time use with Kuvasto.

Members and administration

The Board is elected by the artist members and by representatives of the member organisations. The managing director of Kuvasto prepares matters for the Board's
decisions and presents them for the Board.

The copyright remunerations administrated by Kuvasto

Kuvasto collects, for the artists of whom it is the representative, fees based on the copyright legislation; e.g.:
- compensation for reproduction;
- exhibition compensation for the exhibition of works owned by the artist in exhibitions;
- compensation for showing works on TV, storage and public performance;
- compensation for resale.

Copyright compensation for photocopying and for transmitting TV programs by cable is handled by Kopiosto. At Kopiosto, Kuvasto is one of the representatives of
artists in the field of visual art.

The Services of Kuvasto

Kuvasto offers advisory services in matters involving copyright to artists in the field of visual art and to users of visual art, draws up reports and distributes
information on the rights of artists in the field of visual art.

On behalf of its client, Kuvasto grants the permission for use prescribed by the Copyright Act, collects compensation for the use and, if required, provides legal
assistance to its artist clients.

Kuvasto provides it user clients with the copyright permission required to reproduce works in books, magazines, postcards, CD-ROM publications, TV
programmes, etc. Kuvasto also monitors the use of works by the artists it represents in Finland in, among others, printed matter, TV shows and exhibitions.

International activities of Kuvasto

KUVASTO (www.kuvastory.fi only in Finnish)