Using works free of charge
It is known that talent cannot be stolen from anyone. But the fruits of their creative work are often the subject of theft. Works are the fruits of the author's creativity that allow them to make a living. This is work that the authors want and should be remunerated for. Because no one wants to or should work for free. Unless they agree to it themselves.
Since the very beginning of ZAiKS, authors allowed for situations in which they voluntarily limited their copyrights and agreed to have their works used free of charge. They considered it fair to the recipients of their works. So if someone bought a record with a song, this person could naturally listen to it with their family and dance to it at a party organized for friends. Besides, the possibilities of unauthorized copying were limited by technology. After all, we did not have equipment for copying shellac discs in our homes.
Technology has developed incredibly since then. Today, everyone has the ability to copy almost anything in almost any form and make an unlimited number of copies. Therefore, while maintaining the permitted use criterion, it is still necessary to update and specify the situations in which works can be used for free.
And you can. This is called unremunerated permitted use.
Well, to put it short, without the author's consent and without paying due remuneration, we can use the author’s work in two ways:
- For personal use. For your own needs. For friends and For example, we can lend a book to a classmate, copy a record and play it in our car or at a house party with friends.
- For public use. Here, the list of situations permitted by law is very extensive. You can use works due to important public interest and cultural as well as educational needs. In general, the common denominator for all these uses is the assumption that no one makes money from such unremunerated permitted use. Because you still cannot make earnings for an author’s work without paying them for it in the first place.
The list of such situations is quite long, detailed and constantly changing. It is best to contact us and check if you can use a work for free: inkaso.terenowe@zaiks.org.pl, (22) 827 60 61 to 69 ext. 141, (22) 827 94 83
If you do not find your use case on the list, you will quickly and easily obtain from ZAiKS a license adjusted to your needs. Purchase a license.