Illustrating Options:
Collective Administration of Intellectual Property for Canadian Cultural Heritage Institutions
4. Collective Administration of Retransmission Rights
Copyright subsists in works that are retransmitted via broadcast technologies
when the works are retransmitted to the public. Royalties are owed to
the copyright holders when their works are retransmitted to the public
by distant signal. The Copyright Board sets the fee schedule for these
payments, and the Copyright Act provides for special collective societies
to collect and redistribute the fees associated with retransmitted works.
As with performing rights societies, the collective societies that administer
retransmission rights must file a proposed statement of fees with the
Copyright Board. Objections may be filed by interested parties, and the
Board must consider such objections when making final decisions about
fees. Collecting bodies do not hold a common-law right to license works
individually within their repertoires, but they hold statutory rights
to enforce the payment of fees through the court system.8
If a copyright holder of a retransmitted work is not a member of a collecting
body, he or she must bring an application before the Copyright Board to
have a collecting body designated to act on his or her behalf. Copyright
holders hold no individual rights to collect royalties owed them because
of the retransmission of their works. Copyright Act regulations require
that copyright holders file their claims within two years from the time
the retransmission occurred.9
