Reviewed as of 1 October 2026. If you spot an error, write to me.
VEGAP is the organisation that manages the rights of many visual artists in Spain. If the author of a work you want to reproduce is in its repertoire, it is VEGAP you need to ask for a licence. The quote is only part of it: what matters is that the licence covers every use you intend to make.
1. Check whether the author is in the repertoire
VEGAP does not represent every artist. Ask first whether it manages the author you are interested in. If it does not, you need to approach the artist, their heirs or whoever holds their rights, as the guide on reproducing other people’s works in an exhibition explains.
2. Define the uses before you write
The fee depends on what you are going to do, so a vague request gets a vague answer. For each work, prepare:
- Author, title and date.
- Medium: printed catalogue, digital publication, website, social media, poster, projection in the exhibition space, product.
- Size of the reproduction, for example full page, half page or thumbnail.
- Print run, for printed publications.
- Duration and territory of distribution.
- Whether there will be crops, details or text over the image.
- Who you are: if you are a non-profit cultural organisation, say so, because the law requires collecting societies to provide reductions for such organisations.
VEGAP’s general tariffs distinguish between different types of use, such as publishing media, social media or public communication in cultural venues. A licence for one type of use does not cover the others.
3. Ask for the licence and the quote at the same time
Write with the list of uses and ask for the reply to cover all of them. The law requires collecting societies to respond without undue delay, to apply general tariffs and to grant licences on fair and non-discriminatory terms.
4. Read what you receive
Check that the licence lists every use you asked for and that the amount corresponds to them. A tariff looked up on the website is not a licence: the document issued by VEGAP is. Keep the licence and the invoice with the rest of the project documentation.
5. If you cannot agree on the price
The law provides that, until the parties reach an agreement, the licence is deemed granted if the user pays under reservation, or deposits with the court, the amount the society requires under its general tariffs. It is a way of keeping a project moving, not a way of avoiding payment.
Common mistakes
- Asking for permission ‘for the exhibition’ without listing the catalogue, the website and social media.
- Assuming that promotion on social media is included.
- Asking for the licence after printing or publishing.
- Mistaking the indicative price for the licence.
- Leaving the cost of rights out of the exhibition budget, which the guide on how to budget for a small exhibition includes as a line item.
On the open conversation
This guide is for guidance only and has not been prepared or reviewed by VEGAP. For its current tariffs and procedure, see its website. If you have dealt with licence requests and can share how it went, this notebook remains open.
Sources
- VEGAP, Visual Entidad de Gestión de Artistas Plásticos.
- Real Decreto Legislativo 1/1996, de 12 de abril, texto refundido de la Ley de Propiedad Intelectual, arts. 163 and 164.
- Resolución de 11 de marzo de 2020, del Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, por la que se publica el Convenio con Visual Entidad de Gestión de Artistas Plásticos, para el año 2020, BOE, 26 March 2020.