There are very few specific funds for artists in Spain. One important example is the Cinematographic Protection Fund, administered by the Film and Audiovisual Arts Institute to protect and support the Spanish film industry. The state budget for 2018 provided the Fund with EUR 70.77 million, 110% more than in 2014 (when the Fund decreased to EUR 33.7 million compared to the previous year). The Fund primarily subsidises companies, as aid for scripts or short films can be considered aid to individual artists.
The last reform of the Intellectual Property Act in 2017 (12/2017 Royal Decree Act) implied a deep revision of the so-called “digital canon”, aimed at compensating authors for private copies of their work. According to the new system, manufacturers and distributors of equipment and reproduction supports are responsible for these payments.
After a long litigation with the Court of Justice of the European Union and with a strong opposition, the Act for Reading, Books and Libraries, passed in 2007 The Act modified some aspects of the Intellectual Property Act (23/2006) in establishing a levy on the loans made by cultural organisations (such as libraries, museums, archives, etc.). Thus, libraries have to pay EUR 0.2 for each book copy acquired for loan, with an exemption for public libraries of municipalities of less than 5 000 inhabitants (52% of the total of public libraries in Spain) and those integrated in educational institutions. Payment to the authors will be completed through the copyright societies.
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