Public Lending Right (PLR) is the right of authors and other rightsholders to receive payment for the free use of their works in libraries.
The first country to establish a PLR system was Denmark in 1947. Currently, 35 countries have operational PLR systems, and a further 30 countries, economies or territories around the world are currently working towards setting up a PLR system. Every year, new countries establish their own PLR system and/or introduce the legal basis for PLR in their legislation.
PLR is an essential income line for many authors, in addition to the royalties that they receive from book sales and the reproduction of their works. In many countries, PLR is managed by RROs. IFRRO has supported PLR from the start and is today playing a leading role in the global advocacy for PLR. An important part of that work is achieved, externally, through the close collaboration between IFRRO and Public Lending Right International (PLRI) and, internally, via IFRRO’s Public Lending Right Forum (IPF).
For further information about PLR, you can contact the IFRRO Secretariat.
PLR International side event at WIPO
28 November 2018 ©Emmanuel Berrod / WIPO
The IPF The PLR Forum / Task Force was established for the purpose of providing practical information and exploring possible solutions to technical issues regarding PLR systems in order to improve the understanding of different approaches to PLR and to provide technical assistance and advice to PLR organisations, and those establishing new PLR systems.
PLR Forum / Task Force is open to IFRRO members, authors and publishers who are interested in PLR. The Chair of the IPF / Task Force is Kurt van Damme (Reprobel, Belgium).
PLR Forum / Task Force meets in-person at the IFRRO Mid-Year and Annual Meetings. An additional two virtual meetings will be added beginning in 2024, for a total of four meetings per year.
IFRRO's members administering and/or having an interest in PLR schemes are:
Produced by WIPO, this document is available on the WIPO SCCR 45 webpage here.
PLR International brings together countries with PLR systems to facilitate the exchange of best practice. It also provides advice and technical assistance to countries looking to set up PLR systems for the first time.
The International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations
Rue du Prince Royal 85-87
1050 Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32 2 234 62 60 (Central)
Email: secretariat@ifrro.org
Enterprise Number: 464622872
RPM Tribunal de l’entreprise Francophone de Bruxelles
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