La SAIF

What La SAIF does

La SAIF (Société des Auteurs des arts visuels et de l'Image Fixe) is a French non-profit collective rights management society founded in 1999 that administers copyright and related rights on behalf of approximately 9,000 visual arts authors in France. Its members include photographers, illustrators, designers, authors, and videographers across various disciplines. The society collects and distributes royalties arising from collective rights categories — including private copying (copie privée), reprography, library lending (prêt en bibliothèque), and cable retransmission rights — as well as individual rights management on behalf of its members.

La SAIF operates two principal service platforms: SAIF Images, an image bank allowing rights clearance of member works, and an Espace personnel (member portal) for rights management, royalty statements, and membership administration. The society maintains long-standing partnerships with major French cultural institutions, including Visa pour l'image (20 years), Les Rencontres d'Arles (18 years), and Reporters Sans Frontières (14 years), as well as an annual portfolio of awards (Prix Auteur Photographe en activité, Prix Vidéaste, Prix du Livre de Photographie, Révélation SAIF x La Kabine). It also operates a convention framework — notably the forthcoming 2026 Convention du photojournalisme — and contributes 5% of collected royalties to AFDAS (the artist training fund) since 2013.

The business model is structured as a member-funded, non-profit collective: members pay a one-time €15.24 lifetime share, and the society earns revenue through commissions on collective licensing fees and individual rights management services. La SAIF holds a legally recognized mandate under French intellectual property law to administer collective rights in its assigned categories, which constitutes its principal competitive position. The organization is governed democratically by a General Assembly and Board of directors, with leadership transitioning in 2025–2026 (President Guillaume Lanneau elected June 2025; new DG Églantine de Boissieu effective January 2026). The society actively engages in copyright policy debates, particularly around generative AI and authors' rights in the training data context.

Name

La SAIF

Legal name

Société des Auteurs des arts visuels et de l'Image Fixe

Website

https://saif.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

La SAIF is a French non-profit collective rights management society founded in 1999 that administers copyright and distributes royalties on behalf of approximately 9,000 visual arts authors, operating platforms for image licensing and member rights administration.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Collective Rights Management

NAICS

Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (711510), Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (71151), Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (7115)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Performance Rights Administration (PRO Affiliation, Cue Sheet/Setlist Processing) (MPAIABAE)

Keywords

• Collective rights management
• Copyright collection society
• Visual arts authors
• Stock photography licensing
• Author royalties distribution

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Collective Rights Management: La SAIF collects and distributes collective rights on behalf of its members including private copying, reprography, library lending, and cable television rights. The organization is a non-profit civil society.
2. Individual Rights Management: Manages other author rights including audiovisual rights, internet rights, resale rights (droit de suite), reproduction rights, and public presentation rights.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

La SAIF is a French non-profit collective rights management society that collects and distributes copyright royalties on behalf of approximately 9,000 visual arts authors (architects, designers, illustrators, painters, photographers, sculptors, plastic artists). It manages both collective rights (private copying, reprography, library lending, cable TV) and individual rights (audiovisual, internet, resale/droit de suite, reproduction, public presentation), while also licensing member imagery through the SAIF Images online image bank and offering free legal consultations and cultural action programs.

Product overview

La SAIF is a collective rights management society for visual arts and fixed-image authors, not a software product company. Its core service is collective copyright management — negotiating, collecting, and distributing author royalties on behalf of approximately 9,000 visual artists. The organization operates La SAIF Images, an online image bank through which member authors license their photography and visual works. Member services are delivered via the Espace personnel (personal space) web portal, which handles annual declarations, General Assembly voting, and account management. The organization also funds and organizes cultural action programs including awards, grants, and professional events for photographers and visual artists.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• La SAIF Images An online image bank operated by La SAIF featuring photography and visual works by its member authors, available for licensing and commercial use by media, publishers, and brands.
• Espace personnel (Personal Space) Online member portal through which SAIF members manage their declarations, access voting tools for the General Assembly, download transparency reports, and consult their account information.
• Collective Rights Management Collection and distribution of collective rights on behalf of approximately 9,000 visual arts authors, covering private copying, reprography, library lending, and cable television rights.
• Individual Rights Management Management of individual author rights including audiovisual rights, internet rights, resale rights (droit de suite), reproduction rights, and public presentation rights.
• Free Legal Consultation (Permanence juridique gratuite) Free legal consultation service offered every Friday from 10h to 12h30 (by appointment) to member authors, providing legal advice on copyright and related matters.

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

23 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Association Camille Lepage - On est ensembleflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerLa SAIF has supported the Prix Camille Lepage since 2017 (9th year), providing €8,000 grants to photojournalists. The prize supports long-term documentary projects and is awarded during Visa pour l'image festival.
• Reporters sans FrontièresflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerLa SAIF has supported the Prix RSF Lucas Dolega since 2012 (14 years), providing €10,000 grants to photojournalists for press freedom reporting.
• Visa pour l'image - PerpignanflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerLa SAIF has supported the Visa pour l'image festival for 20 years, organizing round tables, portfolio readings, and prize ceremonies during the professional week.
• Rencontres de la Photographie d'ArlescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLa SAIF has supported the Arles photography festival for 18 years with table rounds, information stands, and cultural events.
• Festival OFF Arles / La KabinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership since 2024 for Prix Révélation SAIF x La Kabine, supporting emerging photographers with €2,000 awards and projections.
• FreelenscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual Grand Prix LNP partnership at Les Nuits Photo festival, providing €1,000 awards for photographic films.
• Festival Les Femmes s'exposentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership since 2018 for annual prize supporting women photographers with €3,000 awards and exhibitions.
• SCAMcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner for round tables on AI and copyright issues, joint events at Visa pour l'image.
• Picto FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple partnerships including Bourse du Talent SAIF (€4,000), Bourse SAIF Carte Blanche Étudiants (€3,000), and Prix Picto de la Mode.
• Cité internationale de la bande dessinée et de l'image (CIBDI) - AngoulêmecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual Bourse BD SAIF & CIBDI since 16 years, offering €5,000 grant plus residency at Maison des auteurs in Angoulême.
• CCFD-Terre SolidaireminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Prix CCFD-Terre Solidaire SAIF (€10,000) since 2022 for humanitarian photography.
• LibérationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsor of Bourse Laurent Troude (€8,000) for photographers under 30, including publication in Libération.
• BD BouM FestivalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrix Jeune Talent - La SAIF - BD BouM (€1,000) for young comic artists aged 18-30 since 4 years.
• Quai des BullesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual professional meetings on copyright and AI issues at the Saint-Malo comic festival.
• The Eyes Wide OpencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Bourse du 1er livre photo with €5,000 grants for first photography books.
• SNAP-CGTcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on collective social protection issues, unemployment insurance for artists, and joint advocacy.
• Ligue des auteurs professionnelscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint advocacy for author rights, unemployment insurance, and copyright protection.
• Le Signe (Centre national du graphisme)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrix SAIF pour le graphisme awarded during Chaumont's international poster competition.
• L'Œil SensibleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Prix Photo Sociale since 2020, supporting social photography with €3,000 Grand Prix.
• CEIPI (Centre d'Études Internationales de la Propriété Intellectuelle)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Convention du photojournalisme and joint events on AI and copyright.
• AFDAScoreOthersLa SAIF contributes 5% of private copying royalties to AFDAS training fund since 2013 to support professional training.
• CNAP (Centre national des arts plastiques)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of États généraux de la Photographie coalition supporting CNAP against proposed restructuring.
• Alliance France DesignminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint advocacy for applied arts copyright protection through CSPLA mission.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• SIAE: SIAE is Italy's largest authors' society covering music, literary, audiovisual, and visual arts rights. Comparable to La SAIF in the visual arts portion of its mandate, though far broader in scope and scale.
• SACEM: SACEM is France's dominant collective rights management society for music, literary, and audiovisual authors. It is a structural peer in operating model (collective management, royalty distribution, member governance) though operating in a different creative vertical. Co-sponsors AI/copyright advocacy with La SAIF via SCAM.

Direct peers

• ADAGP: ADAGP is France's other major collective rights management society for visual arts authors (photographers, illustrators, designers, sculptors). It is the most directly comparable organization to La SAIF, competing for the same French visual creator member base and administering analogous rights categories.
• VEGAP: VEGAP is the Spanish collective management organization for visual arts authors, administering reproduction, distribution, and communication rights. It is the closest cross-border functional analogue to La SAIF and a natural reciprocal-agreement counterpart.
• Pictoright: Pictoright is the Dutch collective rights organization for visual creators, handling reproduction and licensing rights for photographers, illustrators, and designers. Structurally identical mandate to La SAIF with a smaller national footprint.
• BONO: BONO is the Norwegian visual arts rights organization representing photographers, illustrators, and designers. Performs analogous collective management functions to La SAIF for a smaller Nordic member base.
• Bild-Kunst: Bild-Kunst is Germany's collecting society for visual arts authors and the largest European counterpart to La SAIF by membership. It manages analogous rights categories (reprography, private copying, cable TV) for visual creators.
• ARS (Autorengesellschaft): ARS is the Austrian collecting society for reproduction rights of visual and photographic authors. Direct functional peer to La SAIF in rights categories, reciprocity arrangements, and member-services model.

Others

• GESAC: GESAC is the European Grouping of Societies of Authors and Composers representing 32 collective management organizations including La SAIF. It is the closest industry-level umbrella body and a peer in advocacy and reciprocal-agreement infrastructure.

Regional players

• Pixway: Pixway is a French photo agency/technology partner listed in La SAIF's Convention du photojournalisme initiative. Adjacent in the visual rights and licensing ecosystem, serving a related but distinct market segment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/societesaif
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/la-saif
• Instagraminstagram.com/_la_saif

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about La SAIF