About COPIBEC

SODRAC's management work primarily consists of authorizing and licensing the use of your works, e.g. when they are reproduced in printed form. When your works appear in books, catalogues, magazines, newspapers and other publications, SODRAC collects the applicable royalties on your behalf. But what happens when these publications are subsequently photocopied? How are you compensated?

In Quebec, COPIBEC manages royalties for photocopying printed publications. It enters into agreements with various users who regularly photocopy publications (e.g. educational institutions) and collects reproduction royalties from them. It then pays the amounts due to the copyright holders.

Spring 2009: COPIBEC will make two reproduction royalty payments!

In the spring of 2009, COPIBEC will make two reproduction royalty payments, in which creators of visual arts and crafts (and their rights holders) may take part. In both cases, in order to determine your eligibility for the payments, SODRAC will provide COPIBEC with information on all works whose publication was authorized by SODRAC. COPIBEC will subsequently pay the royalties to us, which we will then distribute among eligible SODRAC members.

To be eligible for COPIBEC royalty payments, at least one of your works must have been reproduced in a book, exhibition catalogue, magazine or newspaper published in Quebec between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2007.

However, it is important that you declare all Quebec publications in which your works appeared during the designated period, in addition to the number of your works that appeared in each publication since one of the COPIBEC royalty payments takes into account the number of works published.

To declare your works to SODRAC, please use the form we sent you or download the Word or PDF version (in French only). Please complete the form and return it to us no later than Tuesday, March 31, 2009.

Lump-sum payment

A lump-sum royalty payment (exclusively for Quebec residents) is made every two years. The funds distributed are derived in part from the interest generated on the royalties collected in Quebec that COPIBEC was unable to distribute due to lack of information, as well as from royalties collected by foreign organizations for the reproduction of works that COPIBEC was unable to identify. This is known as a lump-sum royalty payment because the amounts collected by COPIBEC are divided equally among the eligible creators and rights holders.

Reserve fund payment

Every year, COPIBEC pays amounts from a reserve fund exclusively to creators of visual arts and crafts, as well as to their rights holders. To establish this reserve, COPIBEC sets aside a percentage of the royalties generated by agreements entered into with stakeholders in the education, private and government sectors.

Please note that the royalties collected by COPIBEC correspond to the use of printed works and that the declaration system through which users indicate the content that was photocopied does not provide information on which artistic works appeared in those materials. For that reason, COPIBEC created the reserve fund to compensate creators of visual arts and crafts whose works (paintings, sculptures, illustrations, photographs, etc.) are likely to be photocopied.

To receive the base amount, at least one of your works must have been published in a book, newspaper or magazine during the designated period. However, the distribution criteria also take into account the number of works published; as a result, half of the eligible individuals will receive a supplementary payment. For that reason, it is essential that you know exactly which of your works were copied between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2007.