Italy's MiC Revises Guidelines for Cultural Heritage Usage Fees

The Italian Ministry of Culture (MiC) has issued new guidelines (DM108, March 21, 2024) replacing the 2023 guidelines (DM161/2023) for determining minimum fees for the concession and reproduction of state-owned cultural heritage assets. The revision responds to criticism from academia and the Court of Auditors, which deemed the previous rules unclear and contrary to EU digitalization directives. Key changes include exempting scientific and academic publications from commercial fees, requiring only reimbursement of reproduction costs (e.g., photocopies, photographs). For commercial uses, fees are calculated by multiplying a base unit cost (€5 if the requester already possesses the reproduction) by coefficients based on usage type and quantity. The guidelines provide concrete examples, such as a multinational using one digital image for an advertising campaign across all media resulting in a €250,000 fee. Section B on space usage now distinguishes institutional, individual, and high-quality musical/performance events, allowing fee reductions or waivers for events organized by MiC-supervised entities. Section C adds new grounds for fee reduction, including promotion of lesser-known cultural heritage and editorial products using many images of cultural assets. The MiC may issue further directives after monitoring the new guidelines.