German Public Lending Right (PLR)
You may be due royalties from German PLR, a collective licensing scheme operating in Germany which covers library lending of books published in German, that feature your work. It's free to register a claim.
About German PLR
We receive public lending right royalties from our German sister society for works published in German books. We distribute this to our members every year through the German PLR.
How it works
- Complete a German PLR claim form.
- Email your claim form to DACS.
- We send the claim information to our German sister society, VG Bildkunst.
- VG Bildkunst compare our claim information with their lending data and assess if a royalty payment is due.
- If there is a match, VG Bildkunst pay us a royalty which we will distribute to you.
Picture libraries cannot claim PLR for you through DACS.
Eligible artwork
All types of published artwork, including photography, illustration, caricature, cartoon images, logos, infographics, title design and graphic design (we accept a maximum of 200 artistic works per book).
You can claim for work featured in
- a book published by a German publisher, with a print run of at least 250 copies – or 1,000 copies where the book is wordless picture book
- German-language publications, and for uses of scientific works for English-language publications, in the following types of books: children’s and youth literature; non-fiction and specialist books; illustrated books, art books, fiction, other books; school books; and scientific books
- books from the year of publication, up to four years after: for example, a book published in 2025 will be eligible up until 2029
What you cannot claim for works featured in
- books published prior to 2021, unless it is a new edition (a new edition is defined as content and/or design that has changed significantly in comparison to the original version)
- reprinted books, for example where the content and design remain unchanged
- scientific or non-fiction/specialist books books where you are both the author and illustrator
- magazines, newspapers or audiobooks
Information to include
List past uses of your work in books, providing the following information:
- the book title, author, publisher, year of publication and ISBN
- name of publisher, year of publication and ISBN (international standard book number)
- language type – German or other
- type of book (children’s, non-fiction, art, school or scientific book)
- the number of photos of your work a) on the front cover and b) inside the book
- the number of uses of your visual works like illustration, comics and graphics a) on the front cover and b) inside the book
- whether you have designed the book’s overall graphic design and/or the title design
ISBNs and book titles are necessary for our German sister society to match the book to their data on lending usage within public libraries and to correctly confirm whether a book has been published in Germany.
Making your German PLR claim
Claiming for the first time
List all eligible works in books published between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2024.
If you have claimed before
If you have new works to add since then, between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2024, add them to your claim.
If you have no new works to add, there is no need to complete a new form. We will automatically submit your claim for you.
Costs
As a not for profit organisation, DACS deducts 15% from your German PLR royalties to cover our administrative costs.
What is the difference between the German, Dutch and UK PLR schemes and Payback?
The Public Lending Right scheme remunerates artists and authors for the lending of books that feature their work throughout public libraries in a specific territory. Dutch PLR covers the Netherlands only. German PLR covers Germany only. UK PLR covers the UK only.
Payback is a separate scheme from PLR and operates differently.
UK PLR
The UK scheme is distinct from Dutch and German PLR, both of which are distributed through DACS. UK PLR:
- is administered by The British Library
- relates only to books loaned in public libraries in the United Kingdom
Payback
DACS manages Payback for visual artists in the UK. This scheme has distinct eligibility criteria and covers secondary uses of your works, like photocopying, scanning and cable retransmission.
How to get in touch with us
Email the DACS Collective team or call 0207 780 7580.