Creator Distribution Guidelines

Our licensing and distribution framework facilitates the remixing and sharing of content for educational and professional purposes.

The proceeds gathered from this copying are passed along to writers, visual artists and publishers so that they can continue to create new and innovative works. This is vitally important to a strong Canadian culture and to all those who read, write, teach and learn.

Distribution Types

Access Copyright uses two distinct types of distribution:

• Title Specific Distributions:
  Approximately 2/3 of the royalties Access Copyright distributes yearly

• Non-Title Specific Distributions:
  Approximately 1/3 of the royalties Access Copyright distributes yearly

Royalties collected in one fiscal year are generally distributed the following year according to our Board approved distribution guidelines and schedule.

Amount available for distribution

Access Copyright makes the following three allocations from the copyright licensing royalties that we collect.

• An administrative holdback of 30% to cover Access Copyright's administrative and operational costs.
• An allocation of 1.5% of copyright licensing royalties towards the Access Copyright Foundation (currently suspended).

Additionally, Access Copyright directs 15% of all revenue available for distribution to be distributed equally between creators and publishers via their respective repertoire payment. This is done in recognition of the value that all writers, visual artists and publishers bring to our licences by making their works available for copying under Access Copyright's licences.                                                                                                          

Minimum payment limit $25

In order to keep administrative costs as low as possible, Access Copyright will hold royalties owed until they reach the $25 minimum set by Access Copyright's board of directors. However, no amount will be carried forward for more than five years.

Distribution Policy

All distribution policies are approved by Access Copyright's board of directors and reflect, wherever possible, the best practices of the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organizations (IFRRO).

• Licence fees should be collected and distributed in a way that reflects what has actually been copied.
• The ratio of the cost of distribution (including the data collection process) to the amount being distributed should be reasonable.
• Foreign rightsholders must enjoy the same rights as domestic rightsholders.

Access Copyright pays royalties to rightsholders whose works have been copied under Access Copyright licences. Access Copyright also distributes payments to Canadian rightsholders for works copied in other jurisdictions where money has been collected by another reproduction rights organization (RRO) under reciprocal agreements. Through these agreements the interests of Canadian rightsholders are protected abroad, while Canadian licensees are able to access works from an ever-growing international repertoire.