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Supervision over authorised entities under the Copyright Act

Since the entry into force of section 45c of the Copyright Act (Urheberrechtsgesetz) and the Ordinance on Authorised Entities under the Copyright Act (Verordnung über befugte Stellen nach dem Urheberrechtsgesetz) as of 1 January 2019, the DPMA has been acting as the supervisory authority for authorised entities, in addition to its supervision of collective management organisations. Authorised entities are establishments providing education or accessible reading or information access on a non-profit basis to people with a visual impairment or reading disability (section 45c (3) of the Copyright Act). They include, for example, libraries for the blind, special education centres for blind and visually impaired pupils or format conversion services at universities.
Authorised entities must notify the DPMA of the commencement of their activities. The DPMA can be notified by e-mail Aufsicht.befugteStellen@dpma.de.

Further information and answers to fundamental questions about authorised entities are available in the FAQ .

The authorised entities notified to the DPMA are indicated in the list of authorised entities under the Copyright Act.

Last updated: 24 November 2021