On September 9, 2025, the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) granted Verwertungsgesellschaft für die Hersteller von Games mbH (VHG) permission to conduct business.
In future, the VHG will offer manufacturers of computer games the opportunity to assert their statutory remuneration claims. These claims arise when screenshots, film recordings or recordings of game actions are made for private purposes. Such rights cannot be asserted individually by the game manufacturers directly, but only via a collecting society.
It is not the private users who are liable to pay, but the manufacturers of devices and storage media on which these recordings are stored (e.g. PCs, hard disks).
The VHG acts as a trustee and enforces these remuneration claims against device manufacturers on behalf of development studios and publishers. The aim is to put creative professionals in the games industry in a better position to protect their intellectual property and receive appropriate remuneration.
