FAQ

Creators from the professional groups direction, camera, film editing, costume design, stage design as well performing artists in the audiovisual fiels (actor/actress, voice acting) can become beneficiaries of VdFS. To become a member it is necessary to sign a membership contract and to send a complete filmography.

Authors from the professional groups of directing, cinematography, film editing, costume design and production design as well as performing artists in the audiovisual field (actors/actress, voice actors/actress). Legal successors (heirs) of the mentioned professional groups can also become members.

For a VdFS membership, the conclusion of the membership contract is a prerequisite. This can be filled out digitally via our homepage or must be sent in original to our postal address. In addition, we need a complete filmography, with information about function and volume in the respective work and / or with information about role names and shooting days / takes of your production.

By entering into the Membership Contract, the beneficiaries of VdFS grant their rights and remuneration claims to VdFS to manage fiduciary and they provide instructions for collection to VdFS. VdFS cannot work for the filmmaker without a collection agreement.

The collection agreement with VdFS constitutes the basis, also for the management of secondary exploitation rights abroad, which is ensured by concluding reciprocal agreements with affiliated companies.

The granting of rights applies to each area, in which rights management by a collecting society is required according to domestic or foreign law, or where it is handled in practice.

VdFS membership is free of charge, no one-time or ongoing fees are charged.

VdFS is not profit-oriented. Like all collecting societies, VdFS receives its payment for its activities from deductions from the copyright remunerations distributed to the beneficiaries within Austria, as do all collecting societies. Income from abroad is transferred without fees directly to the beneficiaries.

VdFS administers the copyrights of film authors and the neighbouring copyrights of performing artists in the audiovisual sector (actors, voice) and distributes the royalties accruing from cable and blank tape remuneration and other copyright claims to filmmakers and performing artists in the audiovisual sector. Through reciprocity agreements with numerous foreign sister societies, the rights of VdFS beneficiaries are also administered abroad.

In addition to its main task, the collection and distribution of funds, VdFS also performs social and cultural tasks (promotion of Austrian filmmaking, cost-of-living allowances for needy beneficiaries, promotion of education and training measures, etc.). In addition, members are also offered legal advice within the framework of a maximum of EUR 2,000 per year.

The distribution of royalties occurs separately for filmmakers and actors.

The calculation is made using various parameters such as the type of work, the broadcaster or broadcast time. Corresponding calculation factors have been set down for different types of work. Likewise, factors are set down for broadcast factors for television broadcasters, depending on the degree of dissemination and the reception potential of these programmes. Further, the time the transmission during the day and night also affects the calculation of royalties.

Payment is based on the length of the works in full minutes, although works under 10 minutes are not remunerated by VdFS.

Distribution rules

Here you will find a graphic explaining the system of royalty calculation and illustrating it with examples.

The calculation of royalties is done every autumn for the broadcast dates of the previous year. Broadcasts in earlier years (retroactive to three broadcast years) are paid in the course of subsequent settlements.

Royalty payments from foreign affiliated societies are send to the recipients several times a year without deduction of any fees.

The royalty credit is only paid out once a threshold of €10 has been reached.

VdFS can also exercise the rights of its beneficiaries abroad, which means the collection agreement usually includes global rights management. In this case, membership in other foreign collecting societies is not possible, as long as these exercise the same rights.

Beneficiaries can, however, exclude individual countries from rights management or limit rights management only to Austria. In this case, regional memberships in foreign affiliated societies are possible.

Global rights management simply makes the most sense for a filmmaker or performing artists in the audiovisual field, because in that case, the works or contributions only have to be registered once. In the case of national memberships in several collecting societies, a work must be registered with all of the societies, which is significantly more work for the filmmaker or actor. Another advantage of global rights management is that VdFS transfers foreign royalties to the beneficiaries without deducting any fees.

For example, a director who also works as a screenwriter or film producer can also be a member of Literar Mechana and/or VAM, because these societies represent different beneficiaries (screenwriters, film producers) than VdFS.

Not only the artists themselves, but also the legal successors (heirs) can contribute rights to VdFS and receive royalties. Works and performances are protected according to the protection periods stipulated in the Copyright Act: Films 70 years after the death of the last living author (screenplay, direction, dialogue, film music), acting performances are compensated up to 50 years after the release (first performance) of the film.

In order to succeed existing (deceased) members, a decree of inheritance or a similar foreign document must be submitted to VdFS. For details on legal succession, please contact the VdFS office.

An overview of the legal treatment of bonus payments under tax and legal treatment of royalty payments can be found here.

The work broadcast registration serves to identify the claims of filmmakers, actors and speakers.

Registration of works and contributions is the most important basis for calculating royalties. VdFS assesses TV programmes independently but also relies on the registrations of its members for the sake of completion.

New works and contributions should therefore be registered regularly! We recommend to do this at least once a year. Works can be registered via the VdFS online platform MyVdFS (Work overview / Add new work) and directly via the MyVdFS app. Of course, we also accept plant registrations by e-mail or mail.

The online portal MyVdFS, which is accessible to our members, has been available as a mobile app for on-the-go since April 2022. With the app you can manage your membership, make new plant notifications, view your credits and update your master data.

VdFS accounts for the following types of works for authors: Theatrical/TV films, series, documentaries/magazine features/reports, sitcom/comedy, soaps/telenovelas and docu-soaps and series.

In accordance with VdFS distribution rules, news, advertising, sports broadcasts, cartoons/animation, TV shows, cooking shows, talk shows, readings, music shows, live broadcasts or recordings of stage works in front of an audience, reality TV, school and educational TV, and infotainment are not billed. Works are generally billed for a broadcast length of 10 minutes or more.

Please remember to report your works regularly!

Given the probability that we already have the work in our system, it is necessary (and also easier) if you search for the work first. This way duplicates can be avoided and you only have to complete your activity.

Once a work has been approved, it is present in our system and firmly integrated, thus a change can only be made by us. Please contact office@vdfs.at if you want/need to have a change made.

Works are only approved by us as soon as they have been broadcast for the first time (cinema or TV). Experience has shown that various parameters, such as subtitles, can still change before the first broadcast, which is why works that have already been entered appear in the unprocessed list.

Clicking on a heading of the table at the work list will sort by this heading in ascending order. Clicking again will sort in descending order.

Each different cut version is considered an independent work.

The director can be seen in the detail view for each work.

Currently, only verifiable plants according to the distribution rules are displayed in the MyVdFS plant list. All other verified plants are managed in our internal database.

VdFS accounts for the following types of work for actors/actresses: Theatrical/TV films, television films as series, and fictional series.

In accordance with VdFS distribution regulations, commercials, music clips, recordings of stage works in front of an audience, interviews, moderations and infotainment are not billed. Works are billed for a broadcast length of 10 minutes or more. 

Please remember to report your works regularly!

VdFS accounts for the following types of works for voice actors/actresses: Cinema/TV films, TV films as series, fictional series, documentaries/magazine features/reports. Works are billed from a broadcast length of 10 minutes. 

Please remember to report your works regularly!

Please change your master data via the MyVdFS online portal or the MyVdFS app. You are also welcome to notify us of changes to your address and/or bank details by mail. To do so, please send us an email to office@vdfs.at.

The fact that you do not find a reported and confirmed work in your list can basically have two reasons: either it is possibly a work that cannot be offset (according to our distribution regulations) and is only administered in our internal database, or the work was broadcast under a different title and cannot be found with this title in the work list.

The percentage of a function can be seen and changed in the detailed view of your work.

Artist names and name variants can be added or deleted when changing master data.

Send data can be added to both the plant send message and the detailed view of an already confirmed plant.

The broadcast data cannot be viewed in the MyVdFS online platform or the MyVdFS app. These are managed in our internal database. However, this data is listed in the details of the credits.

Although VdFS evaluates TV programs independently, it is also dependent on the reports of its members for reasons of completeness. We will analyze the reported broadcasting data, use it for accounting purposes or forward it to our foreign sister societies.

First, you need to log in to your MyVdFS account. There you will find the Settings option in the drop-down menu (top right). Under the second option, Power of attorney for representatives, tax advisors, or others, you can apply for a power of attorney directly in your MyVdFS account. More details here.

All members of the VdFS who are not resident or domiciled in Austria for tax purposes must obtain a certificate of residence (declaration by natural persons for the purposes of DTA withholding tax relief) from their local tax office each year and send it to the VdFS.

The certificate must be renewed every calendar year. We request that you send us the certificate at the beginning of each calendar year by email, via the MyVdFS upload area, or by post.

Please use the form linked above (withholding tax form). This must be completed in triplicate and submitted to the relevant tax office for stamping and signing on the back. Please send us a copy by email, via the MyVdFS upload area, or by post.

If you agree to the deduction of withholding tax and do not wish to or cannot provide a certificate, please notify us as soon as possible by email at office@vdfs.at. 

As long as the VdFS does not have your certificate of residence, your credit balance will not be paid out for the time being. We would like to give you enough time to apply for the certificate from your tax office. 

However, if we have not received your certificate by November 30 of the respective calendar year and have not received any further information from you, your royalties will be paid out automatically with a 20% withholding tax deduction during the payment in December.

You can have the withholding tax refunded by the Eisenstadt (Austria) tax office if you can provide proof that you have paid tax on the royalty payment in your country of residence. To do so, please contact the Eisenstadt tax office directly.

Our tax consultant and his team have summarized the most important information on tax and social security for you here.

For detailed information or advice, please contact your personal tax advisor.

Since 1 January 2026, new provisions have applied in connection with ‘marginal employment’, AMS remuneration and royalty income. You can find more detailed information here (German only). For detailed information or advice, please contact your AMS advisor.

VdFS members can grant powers of attorney via their MyVdFS account. Under the drop-down menu (top right), you will find the Settings option. There, under the second option, Power of Attorney, you can apply for a power of attorney directly in your MyVdFS account for the attorney-in-fact. Alternatively, you can send us a letter of authorization and a copy of your ID by mail, and we will file the power of attorney for the proxy holders. 
You can find more details here.

If beneficiaries do not have MyVdFS access, you can send the VdFS a hand-signed (!) power of attorney together with a copy of your ID by mail. We will then set up the power of attorney for you. 

Power of attorney holders are generally relatives, agencies, or tax firms. In principle, only the VdFS member decides who can be a power of attorney holder. 

When granting power of attorney via the MyVdFS account, the VdFS member must specify whether the power of attorney includes read-only access or read and write access.

After receiving power of attorney via the MyVdFS account, authorized representatives can view and download their clients' data and documents in the online portal (read access). In addition, if they have read and write access, they can change master data and report works and contributions.

Agencies are only granted read access by default. If write access is required, this can be requested by sending an email to office@vdfs.at. Write access will be granted after the power of attorney documents have been carefully reviewed.

Authorized representatives receive access to the MyVdFS platform via email, allowing them to manage the accounts of their VdFS members using their own mandate ID.
If you have any questions about the MyVdFS platform, please email us at office@vdfs.at.

We still require written notification from the beneficiary in order to change your clients' account or address details. If required, please forward us an email written by the member/your client. Ideally, the member/your client should write to us themselves at office@vdfs.at and inform us of the change. 

Currently, only works that can be billed in accordance with the distribution regulations of the VdFS or our sister societies are displayed in the MyVdFS works list. 
Please note that for administrative reasons, not all of the works you have reported may be listed. New works or works that have not yet been broadcast will only be displayed shortly before their first broadcast. Works that have not been broadcast for several years may also not be listed. These works will automatically reappear in the event of a future repeat broadcast. Works that cannot be remunerated due to distribution regulations are also not shown in the works list.

New beneficiaries (living or deceased) can be registered with VdFS at any time.  All information on registration can be found here.  
Registration can be completed online here.

Please note that all power of attorney documents must also be submitted during the registration process. 
After registering and activating the client, you will receive personal access to the MyVdFS portal (if you do not already have it). There you will find your client's documents and data available for you to view. 

The power of attorney expires upon the death of the member/client. 
Please inform us, the VdFS, immediately at office@vdfs.at. 

If available, please send us an obituary or, if already available, a transfer of ownership order or certificate of inheritance clarifying the legal succession. 

You are obliged to inform the VdFS immediately if you no longer represent our member as your client. Please send an email to office@vdfs.at. 

As an agency, please pay attention to the obligations of the proxy holder. 

We have compiled a list of abbreviations for the details of the royalty credit origin of your VdFS credits. If you have any questions about your credit note, please contact office@vdfs.at

These practical guides were created in response to increased requests from beneficiaries and are intended to provide a general introduction to the subject and raise awareness of various legal issues. These cannot replace advice in individual cases.