HOW TO USE CARCC’S LICENSING SERVICE

General instructions for obtaining a licence through CARCC:
 When an artist receives a request for a use of a work, the artist should inform the potential user that he or she is an affiliate of CARCC and that CARCC will issue a licence for the use. To assist in gathering the information necessary for issuing a licence, CARCC provides a Request for Licence Form which either the artist or the user of the artist's copyright may fill out. Or the necessary information can be submitted to CARCC by fax, phone, email, or regular mail by either the artist or the user.

The artist may give specific instructions to CARCC for negotiating and the artist is consulted when a licence is being prepared.  If an affiliate wishes CARCC to pursue a higher copyright fee or to accept a lower fee (often because the artist supports a cause or institution), CARCC will follow that direction. The artist will receive a copy of the licence upon issuance, and will be paid once the fees are received by CARCC.

The artist and user establish when, where, and what works will be used. Both parties may be contacted by CARCC to negotiate the appropriate fees and conditions of use. CARCC will advise on the acceptable standards. Once the terms have been set, the licence is issued to the user along with an invoice for all fees due (copyright fees, administration fees and GST). Once payment is received from the user, CARCC pays the artist. GST is remitted to Revenue Canada by CARCC, unless the artist wishes to do his or her own GST remission. All copyright fees are subject to GST and CARCC ensures it is paid over and above the copyright fee. CARCC licensing must be publicly acknowledged in the accreditation. The artist’s name, the title of the work, date of creation © CARCC, year of licence must appear with the licensed project—on the labels, under the reproduced image, etc.

Exhibition Licensing:
The artist and the user establish that an exhibition will take place and which works will be used. Copyright applies to all works created after June 8, 1988, exhibited publicly, where the works are not presented for sale or hire.  This means that exhibition fees can be negotiated and charged. The licence specifies insurance and shipping responsibilities, cancellation terms, the dates and place of the exhibition copyright use, and the exhibition copyright fees. Fees are usually payable to CARCC prior to the opening of the exhibition.  Any reproductions are licensed separately.  Professional fees covering remuneration for tasks related to consultation, preparation, installation, presentation by an artist are not copyright fees, and should be negotiated and invoiced separately by the artist.

Exhibition contracts presented to artists often cover many of these points and more.  A CARCC affiliate presented with a contract that deals with copyright of any sort, be it an exhibition fee or the right to reproduce a work in a brochure or catalogue and so on, should refer the contract to CARCC.  CARCC will negotiate the terms pertaining to any rights that have been assigned to it by the artist in the Affiliation Agreement, and will issue licences in conjunction with the contract.  The artist should sign any such contracts only after the negotiation with CARCC has taken place.

Permanent Collection Exhibition Licences:
The 1988 reforms to the Copyright Act outline the exhibition right for visual artists.  The exhibition right covers works made after June 8, 1988, and that includes works, either donated or purchased, in the permanent collections of public museums, corporations, or other institutions when the works are presented in public exhibitions.  CARCC offers a licence for works in permanent collections that allows 10 years of exhibition on the licensee’s premises. Fees are a one-time payment for the duration of the licence. At the end of the licence period, a new licence must be negotiated. Any exhibition outside of the licensee’s premises (such as a loan to another institution) requires a Temporary Exhibition License and fee. Except for archival documentation, any reproductions of work, including digital or electronic, require a Reproduction Licence and fee. Where a portfolio or series of prints is involved, one print only may be licensed for exhibition provided that only one print is exhibited at a time at the licensee's location. Where a large number of works by one Artist is involved, a percentage reduction on the total fee may be considered.

Alternatively, should an owner of a work subject to the exhibition fee not wish to take a Permanent Collection Exhibition Licence, a Temporary Exhibition Licence may be negotiated each time the work is exhibited, whether on or off the owner’s premises.

CARCC strongly recommends that affiliates NOT assign rights – for exhibition, reproduction ‘for educational and promotional purposes’ or whatever, to owners of their works.  If a museum, for example, solicits this sort of permission, the artist should not sign anything, rather the artist, or CARCC, should inform the museum that CARCC represents the artist, and that permissions for any use of copyright should be obtained from CARCC.

Reproduction Licensing (includes digital, electronic, film, video, television, etc):
Because of the variables—size, print run, method, venue—it is difficult to establish the appropriate fees without specific details. For example: a book cover image demands
a larger fee than one inside; the size, purpose, and print-run of a poster determine the fee; books published by a non-profit publisher are charged less than a commercial venture.
Licenses are issued prior to the production. Fees are usually due prior to production, although the license can include a schedule of payment if the reproduction occurs in phases or over a longer period of time. Licences cover the terms of reproduction specifying the exact details: numbers, method, size, purpose, venue, location in the publication (i.e. cover or inside), and fees. Digital reproduction licences outline the uses (i.e. website, CD ROM), length of time, and requirements for protection (i.e. copyright warnings or digital watermarking).

Reprography Licensing:
Reprography (the right pertaining to the secondary uses of already-published works by such means as photocopying in, for example, schools and universities) can only be managed collectively. CARCC, through sub-licensing agreements with Access Copyright (formerly CanCopy) receives a share of Access Copyright’s licensing revenue for distribution to its affiliates. Most of this revenue is from the repertoire pool (shared by creators and publishers) consisting of money that cannot be paid because individual copyright holders cannot be identified with every use. Visual artists who are members of CARCC share in the creators’ portion of the pool.  The amounts vary from year to year, and the eligibility criteria are set through negotiation with Access Copyright.  Currently, an Artist must have been a CARCC affiliate over two calendar years (if you joined in 2007, for example, you would become eligible in 2009).  As well, the Artist must be a resident of any Canadian province or territory with the exception of Quebec.  And the Artist must provide proof that he or she has at least one work published in print (in a catalogue, book, magazine, brochure, etc.). The reprography payment from Access Copyright is annual and the cheques are generally sent in early December.

CARCC affiliates living in Quebec are encouraged to register with Copibec, the reprography licensing agency in Quebec.  The requirements for eligibility for a Copibec payment change with every payment, so CARCC affiliates should keep their information up to date with Copibec.  CARCC will notify affiliates from time to time of special distributions from Copibec for artists who live outside Quebec and whose works have been published in Quebec. 

Administration fees:
CARCC supports itself by the collection of administration fees.  There is no charge or membership due to join CARCC, but nevertheless, CARCC is not exactly a free service.  It does not receive grants from any sources and it keeps its administrative fees as low as possible. The CARFAC Minimum Fee Schedule describes CARCC administration fees in detail.  For exhibition licensing, the administration fee is paid by the user and is added to the CARFAC published fee. For reproduction licensing, the administration fee is included in the amount published in the Fee Schedule and is deducted before payment to the artist. CARCC deducts an administration fee from payments to its members that are made to it by agreement with other collectives, such as those which issue licences for reprography.  CARCC may deduct a higher administration fee when the affiliate is not also a CARFAC member.

International licensing:
CARCC may make agreements that allow other copyright collectives to licence uses of its affiliates in other countries.  These collectives will take responsibility for licensing uses of works by CARCC affiliates in their respective countries.  They will negotiate and issue licences on the affiliate’s behalf, collect the payments, pay the affiliate, and defend the licences should any infringement occur.  Occasionally collectives in other countries will distribute royalties for unidentified uses to collectives with which they have agreements, and this money is distributed in turn to CARCC affiliates.  CARCC affiliates should notify CARCC of any out-of-country licensing needs.  At present CARCC is working to forge a number of agreements, in particular with collectives in Australia, the U.S.A., the U.K., Germany and Spain.

Print This Page