Bylaws - DANSKE SCENOGRAFER
§ 1 Name
The name of the association is: Danske Scenografer.
§ 2 Purpose
Danske Scenografer is a trade union for professional experts who work in performing arts, film/TV, exhibitions, etc., including but not limited to those who conceptualize, create, and design narratives in spaces, such as scenographers, production designers, costume designers, lighting designers, sound designers, video designers, and more.
Danske Scenografer aims to safeguard the professional and artistic interests of its members in every aspect, including general working conditions, copyright protections, and promoting collective and individual interests in the labor market. Danske Scenografer works to unify its diverse membership in a professional community and to support the members’ mutual relationships and networks. Danske Scenografer engages and makes its presence known locally, nationally, and internationally to create the best possible framework for its members.
§ 3 Headquarters
Danske Scenografer is based and has its jurisdiction in Copenhagen.
Danske Scenografer is affiliated with the Confederation of Professionals in Denmark (AC) and the unemployment insurance fund FTFa.
§ 4 Membership
Danske Scenografer offers the following memberships:
- A-member (active)
- B-member (passive)
- Student member
- Pensioner member
- Honorary member
An A-member has full rights within the association. Any adult person who has either:
a) completed at least one professional production within their field of expertise at a professional theater, production company, exhibition, etc., recognized by Danish Scenographers. The board may, at its discretion, fully or partially replace this condition with similar work within the field, such as other scenographic work.
and/or
b) graduated from a school recognized by Danske Scenografer.
A B-member has passive membership, thus no voting or nomination rights in the association, nor access to advice. Any adult person who either:
a) does not qualify for A-membership as per § 4 clause 2 and wishes to support the purpose of Danske Scenografer, or
b) is neither employed nor seeking employment (for an extended period) within the association’s field, as stated in § 2, clause 1.
Any adult person enrolled in a recognized educational program for the specific field can become a student member.
Members may transition to pensioner membership upon retirement.
Individuals who have made a significant contribution to the purpose of Danske Scenografer may be nominated by the board at a general meeting for appointment as honorary members. Honorary members are exempt from dues.
Foreign professionals may be accepted as temporary A-members for the period they are employed as scenographers in this country if they meet the other membership conditions, at the discretion of the board.
Applications for membership should be addressed to the secretariat of Danske Scenografer with relevant information. The procedure for handling membership applications is determined by the board. The board resolves any doubts concerning membership and member rights.
Members have the opportunity for dual membership with a related trade union that pertains to the same profession.
Members are responsible for updating their personal data with Danske Scenografer.
§ 5 Resignation and Exclusion
Resignation for all categories of membership must be in writing according to a procedure adopted by the board with at least 1 month’s notice to the end of a quarter.
Members who, despite reminders, do not pay overdue dues automatically lose their membership rights. The board sets the procedure for this. Any subsequent application for admission can only be processed once any outstanding dues are paid. However, the board may, in very special cases, grant exemptions from this.
Exclusion can occur if a member:
- Actively opposes the purpose of Danske Scenografer or otherwise acts to the detriment of the association’s interests or violates the laws of Danske Scenografer or legal general meeting decisions.
- Violates current agreements, etc., between Danske Scenografer and respective employer organizations.
- Refuses to exclusively transfer their rights to Danish Scenographers without prior agreement, except in the case of special dual memberships, provided they have transferred their rights in writing to those memberships.
For exclusion to be valid, it must be approved by at least 3/4 of the total votes of the board.
Any board decisions on exclusion can, at any time, be challenged by the member concerned at the next general meeting if a request to this effect is made to the board no later than 1 month after the decision has been communicated to the member. The member in question has the right to speak at the general meeting, where a 2/3 majority of those present can overturn the board’s decision.
§ 6 Dues
The current rates for dues and the terms for various memberships, as outlined in § 4, clause 1, are determined by the general assembly and are subject to collection and price index adjustments as specified by the board.
The board may, upon request, reduce or waive a member’s dues for a specified period if justified by the member’s special circumstances.
§ 7 Right to Attend, Voting Rights, and Eligibility
Every member has the right to attend Danske Scenografer’s general meetings and member meetings.
Only A-members are entitled to vote and are eligible for election.
§ 8 Management, Administration, and Board
The general assembly is the highest authority of Danske Scenografer.
To oversee the daily operations of Danske Scenografer under the responsibility of the general assembly, a board consisting of at least 5 and no more than 12 members is elected. A member may serve on the board for a maximum of 10 consecutive years.
The board is elected at the general assembly and subsequently constituted at a meeting. The board determines its own method of work, including, for example, the establishment of committees, to which the board can add members and external expert assistance.
The board constitutes itself with a chairperson appointed by the board. If deemed necessary by the board, a vice-chairperson, an executive committee, etc., can also be appointed. Board positions may be remunerated according to the board’s determination.
Danske Scenografer is legally represented by the chairperson and the head of the secretariat in matters involving the purchase and sale of real estate, the entering into and termination of leases. Decisions on such matters are made by the board.
§ 9 Accounting
The fiscal year of Danske Scenografer is the calendar year.
The accounts are audited annually by a state-authorized auditor and a critical auditor elected by the general assembly.
§ 10 General Meetings
General meetings can be ordinary or extraordinary. Both ordinary and extraordinary general meetings may be held with either physical or digital attendance. The board decides on the format.
An ordinary general meeting is held every year in November.
An ordinary general meeting is convened with at least 3 weeks’ notice by direct written or electronic invitation to every member eligible to attend.
The agenda, including attachments such as the board-approved and auditor-signed accounts, budget proposals for the upcoming fiscal year, transparency reports, any proposals for amendments to the bylaws, and possibly the board’s written report, is distributed at least 1 week before the general meeting.
An extraordinary general meeting must be convened when at least 3/4 of the total board members deem it necessary, or when at least 1/4 of Danske Scenografer’s A-members request it in writing, specifying the issues to be addressed. In the latter case, the extraordinary general meeting must be held no later than 14 days after the request has been received by the secretariat.
An extraordinary general meeting is convened with at least 5 days’ notice by direct written or electronic invitation to every member eligible to attend. The invitation must be accompanied by an agenda for the extraordinary general meeting.
§ 11 Chairperson and Agenda for Ordinary General Meetings
Each ordinary general meeting elects, separately and outside of the agenda, a chairperson who must not be a board member, substitute board member, or employee of Danish Scenographers. The chairperson presides over the meeting, confirms its legality, and makes all decisions related to voting.
The agenda for ordinary general meetings must include the following items:
- The board’s report.
- Review of the board-approved auditor-signed accounts and the approval of the transparency report.
- The status of Danske Scenografer’s accounts as of September 30.
- Proposals from the board.
- Submitted proposals.
- The budget and proposals for dues for the coming year.
- Approval of proposals for the use of funds from collective rights management for scenographers.
- Approval of proposals for the use of funds from collective rights management for lighting designers.
- Election of the board.
- Election of 2 members to the Scenographers’ Rights Fund.
- Election of a critical auditor.
- Any other business.
Any additional items for the agenda are determined by the board. Submitted proposals must be received by the secretariat at least 2 weeks before the general meeting. Only items listed on the agenda can be discussed with the intention of making a decision.
§ 12 Voting at Ordinary and Extraordinary General Meetings
Decisions are made by a simple majority of the present (physically or digitally) voting-eligible members at the general meeting. In elections where more than one person is to be elected, each voting-eligible member must vote for the same number of candidates as there are positions to be filled. The candidate(s) with the most votes are elected.
Absent voting-eligible members may be represented and vote by a present member eligible to attend, provided a written proxy is given. Proxies must be submitted for verification to the chairperson immediately after their election.
Voting is by a show of hands (or an equivalent method in digital meetings). However, voting must be conducted in writing if at least one present voting-eligible member requests it.
§ 13 Collective Agreements
The general assembly may adopt measures that restrict members’ rights to collaborate with employers or similar entities.
Any agreement between Danish Scenographers and respective employers must be approved by the board and then presented to an ordinary or extraordinary general meeting for information.
Members are obligated to adhere to agreements entered into by Danske Scenografer, including those regarding the use of copyright-protected content to which the members hold the copyright.
By virtue of membership in Danske Scenografer, every member grants the association a non-exclusive right to enter into agreements on the member’s behalf and to collect fees for the use of copyright-protected content in accordance with the association’s decisions within the current purpose clauses at any given time. This transfer applies to the extent that the member retains such rights. The member authorizes the association to take any legal or factual steps necessary to exercise this right. The association may, on behalf of the member, address any infringement of these rights. The association may enter into representation agreements with similar foreign organizations.
The board of Danske Scenografer may also decide that the transfer, regarding the legal and economic rights to audiovisual works, may be entirely or partially exclusive.
Danske Scenografer may delegate the management of these agreements, or parts thereof, to other organizations, including, for example, associations under Copydan.
The transfer includes, among others, rights managed by collective management organizations such as the Copydan associations, of which Danske Scenografer is a member. Members have the right to be informed about the areas in which agreements have been made.
Funds received by Danske Scenografer from Copydan fees, etc., are distributed as far as possible individually to the entitled parties, otherwise collectively.
§ 14 Amendments to the Bylaws
Amendments to or additions to these bylaws – including regular bylaw revisions – can be made when approved by a 2/3 majority of the voting-eligible members present at an ordinary or extraordinary general meeting.
§ 15 Dissolution of Danske Scenografer
Proposals for the dissolution of Danske Scenografer can only be made at an extraordinary general meeting called specifically for this purpose with 14 days’ notice.
Dissolution can only occur if approved by at least a 3/4 majority of the voting-eligible members present and if at least 3/4 of Danske Scenografer’s voting-eligible members are represented at the extraordinary general meeting.
If the required majority is achieved at the general meeting but the sufficient number of voting-eligible members is not represented, a new extraordinary general meeting is called with the same notice, and the dissolution can then be approved by a 3/4 majority regardless of the number of members attending.
Concurrent with the dissolution, a decision must be made regarding the use of Danske Scenografer’s assets.
As adopted at the extraordinary general meeting on November 16, 1975, and as revised at the general meetings on November 18, 1977; March 17, 1982; November 14, 1982; March 29, 1989; March 28, 1990; March 21, 1991; March 25, 1993; March 23, 1995; November 16, 1997; November 14, 1999; November 17, 2002; November 7, 2004; November 14, 2010; November 13, 2011; November 18, 2012; November 17, 2013; November 17, 2016; November 16, 2017; November 15, 2018; November 14, 2019; and November 23, 2023.