Rights

Deed of Assignment

• I have recently registered as an online portal user. Why have I not yet received a Deed of Assignment?

  A registration to use the Online Portal is not a member application. You receive a Deed of Assignment if you apply for membership and your application is accepted.  

  We’d love to be of assistance. On the page Become a member, you can find out everything on the membership admission process and can submit the application online.

• Can I become a creator or publisher member of several collective management organisations (for music) in the world at the same time?

  Yes, that is possible in principle. The requirement for this is that your membership does not overlap in terms of territories, rights and period of representation.

• Do I have to acquire a GEMA licence (event, CD, online) when I play my own works?

  Yes, when you conclude a Deed of Assignment, you fully assign the exploitation rights to GEMA. As a consequence, you must always acquire a GEMA licence, even if you are a music user yourself. This is the case if you organise concerts where your own works are played exclusively (it is always the event organiser who has to acquire the licence), if you produce sound recordings or if you include your works for self-presentation on your own website. Income from such exploitations will, however, be paid out to you, once we have deducted the administration costs. In the case of presenting your own works on a personal website, the licence might be free of charge under certain conditions.

• Which rights do I assign to GEMA with the Deed of Assignment?

  You assign to us as a trustee all rights in your works you are currently entitled to and those accruing, devolving, redevolving to you or otherwise acquired by you during the term of this Deed for specific types of use. In this context, the most important types of use are:

  • Performing rights
  • Broadcasting rights for radio and TV
  • Mechanical reproduction rights and distribution rights for audio, audiovisual and multimedia carriers
  • Communication to the public rights for radio and TV broadcasts
  • Communication to the public rights via audio and audiovisual carriers
  • Film performance rights and (unlimited) film synchronisation right
  • Statutory remuneration rights such as what is known as hardware levy and blank media levy (blank tape remuneration)
  • Making available rights i.e. make music available on the internet or by similar means in such a way that it is available to music users at any time, anywhere.
  • Rights to use music as ringtone melodies

  Deed of Assignment

  Separate rights management conditions

  Documents are only available in German.
   

  Synchronisation rights for UGC platforms

  Synchronisation rights for online usage by broadcasting companies

• How do I add rights to or remove them from the Deed of Assignment?

  You can apply for such changes by sending a mail to mitgliederpartner@gema.de. Such additions or removals of individual rights and/or territories depend on the time of your submission. We will send you a Deed of Assignment reflecting the relevant changes.