FAQs for Creator Affiliates
For FAQs About Payback™, please click here.
- Own reproduction rights to at least one work published in a print format such as a book, magazine, newspaper or scholarly journal and is also commercially available.
- Not already affiliated with any other reproduction rights organization (such as COPIBEC in Quebec).
- You are a writer, editor, translator and/or visual artist (i.e. illustrator, photographer, designer).
- 5% is allocated toward costs for current and future tariff proceedings held before the Copyright Board of Canada. These tariff proceedings help us ensure fair compensation for creators and publishers when their works are reported as being copied.
- 1.5% is allocated to the Access Copyright Foundation.
- 20% is allocated to cover administrative costs.
- Convenience. Hassle-free banking. You no longer have to go to the bank and make a deposit or worry about lost, stolen or misplaced cheques.
- Fast. Your money is electronically transferred into your account on time and is available to use instantly once the transfer is complete.
- Secure. Direct Deposit is more confidential than paper cheques.
- Cost Savings. Access Copyright saves money by printing and mailing fewer cheques. These are savings that are then passed on to you.
Who can become an affiliate of Access Copyright?
If you are a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident, outside the province of Quebec, you are eligible to register for affiliation with Access Copyright provided that you meet the following requirements:
How do I become an affiliate?
Please click here to learn how to become affiliated with Access Copyright.
Can I register online to become an affiliate?
Yes. An online registration tool is available on our website.
Is there a fee to become an affiliate?
No. Affiliation with Access Copyright is free. However, Access Copyright retains a percentage of royalties collected to cover our administrative costs. Only those benefiting from a distribution contribute to the cost of operations. Access Copyright's Board of Directors sets the administrative holdback fee each year.
Do I need to send in a new affiliation application each year?
No. Once you are an affiliate, you do not need to renew your affiliation every year. It will not expire unless you submit written instructions for us to cancel your affiliation. However, we do occasionally update our affiliation agreement to offer more services. In this case, you may be required to sign a new affiliation agreement. When this happens, we will notify our affiliates that a new affiliation agreement is available.
How many published works do I need to have to be an affiliate?
You must have at least one published work in print format and own reproduction rights for that work, to affiliate.
Should I let Access Copyright know when I publish new titles? Do I need to submit a complete works list?
No. You are not required to send in regular updates to your works list. If Access Copyright receives a report that your works have been copied by our licensees, our staff will build records in our Payback Management System for those works and will attach them to your affiliate profile to facilitate royalty payments. We may contact you from time to time to confirm that you are the creator of a work that has appeared in our reports. As a result, we ask that you please ensure that the contact information we have on file for you is kept up to date.
If I'm Canadian, but am published primarily in the U.S. and U.K., is it still worth my while to affiliate?
Yes. Through reciprocal agreements with other reproduction rights organizations, Access Copyright affiliates are represented in other countries around the world, including the U.S. and U.K. These agreements ensure representation of Canadian authors and Canadian publications in other territories and also allow us to represent foreign publications in Canada.
Can I become both a publisher and creator affiliate?
Yes, however, if you publish only your own material, you can only affiliate as a creator.
If I am a member of PWAC (or any other Access Copyright member organization), does that automatically make me an Access Copyright affiliate?
No. Being a member of an Access Copyright member organization does not automatically make you an affiliate. Please click here to learn how to become affiliated with Access Copyright.
What allocations are deducted from the licensing royalties Access Copyright collected?
Access Copyright's Board of Directors has approved three allocations from the licensing royalties collected by Access Copyright:
Why is 15% of all licensing revenues directed to creator and publisher repertoire payments?
Access Copyright's distribution methodology changed January 1, 2010 in order to recognize the value that all creators and publishers bring to our licences. Fifteen percent of all available revenue is distributed to publishers and creators via their respective repertoire payment.
Why am I receiving a royalty payment for the first time?
You may be receiving a payment for the first time if the amounts owing reached the minimum payment of $25. This amount was set by Access Copyright's Board of Directors in order to reduce administrative costs. You may also be receiving a payment for the first time if we recently located you or received your tax-identifier number.
Do my royalties include GST or HST?
The royalties you receive from Access Copyright do not include GST or HST. If you have a GST or HST number, you should not declare this amount on your GST or HST return. However, all royalties you receive from Access Copyright are considered taxable income. We will send you a T5 slip in February of each year. Please contact your accountant or the Canada Revenue Agency for more information on income taxation and revenue.
Why does my statement show tax being deducted?
Some of the royalties we collect on your behalf come from other reproduction rights organizations (RROs) around the world and there may be a withholding tax at the source. Please contact affiliates@accesscopyright.ca for more information.
I receive my royalties from Access Copyright by cheque, but would rather receive them by direct deposit. How can I do this?
To sign up for direct deposit please visit our website and download our direct deposit enrolment form: www.accesscopyright.ca/other/direct-deposit.
Access Copyright's goal is to make all payments by direct deposit. Direct deposit of your royalty payments offers many benefits:
