Member services

Some frequently asked questions about membership and member services for Copyright Agency and Viscopy.

How much does it cost to join? Nothing; membership is free.
Who can join? Anyone who owns or controls rights in text or images can join Copyright Agency. Anyone who owns copyright in images can join Viscopy.
Do artists need to join both Copyright Agency and Viscopy? We recommend they do. More here.
How often do I need to renew my membership? You don't. Once you've joined you stay a member.
How much will I receive in payments? This depends on whether, and how much, your work is used by licensees.
How do you know when my work is used by licensees?

Most of our licences are 'blanket' licences that allow use of all text and images. For these, we collect usage information from a sample of licensees. We use this information to distribute licence fees. At the moment, it is impracticable to collect information about each and every usage under blanket licence schemes.

In some cases, we license works on a use-by-use basis.
How many licensees do you survey?

It varies from scheme from scheme. In the schools sector, 180 schools provide information for a term on their photocopying, and 100 schools provide information for four weeks on their use of digital content. Different schools are surveyed each year.
How do I know which licensees have been surveyed? This is confidential, to protect the integrity of surveys.
How do you work out how to distribute licence fees? Our distribution of licence fees follows our distribution policy. More here.
How often will I receive payments? We distribute payments quarterly: distribution timetable here.
Do you monitor infringements?

No. We monitor usage made under the licences we administer.

In some cases, we can provide assistance to Viscopy members whose copyright has been infringed.
Can I change my class of membership?

Contact us if you would like to review or change your class of membership.

All members are entitled to payments from the statutory licences we manage.

You can also choose to authorise us to include your works in:

  • Copyright Agency's 'voluntary' licence schemes (e.g. for corporations)
  • Viscopy's artwork licences
Why do I have to become a Copyright Agency member to get a statutory licence payment? We are required by the Copyright Regulations to hold amounts allocated to non-members in our trust fund until the person becomes a member. The requirement is in Regulation 23JM(g)(ii).