AFFILIATION (ARTIST/RIGHTS HOLDER/ESTATE) AGREEMENT
Hereafter referred to as the "ARTIST/RIGHTS HOLDER/ESTATE"
This Agreement, including the Definitions set out below, relates to the administration of copyrights to Works now owned or controlled by the ARTIST/RIGHTS HOLDER/ESTATE during the term of, and beginning on Effective Date of January 1st, annually, this Agreement.
The ARTIST/RIGHTS HOLDER/ESTATE grants to COPYRIGHT VISUAL ARTS the limited mandate to administer and to grant licenses for Exhibition (Including Professional Services), Reproduction, Telecommunication and Reprography to his-her Works and other selected rights for the purpose of licensing and authorizing their use to the ARTIST's remunerative advantage during the term of this Agreement.
The ARTIST/RIGHTS HOLDER/ESTATE warrants that: 1) each of the Works is original to him/her; 2) he/she owns the copyright in and to each of the Works and that they contain nothing that is in breach of a third party’s copyright or other intellectual property right or that is otherwise unlawful; and 3) that he/she has the right and authority to grant the rights to COPYRIGHT VISUAL ARTS referred to herein. The ARTIST/RIGHTS HOLDER/ESTATE agrees to indemnify and hold COPYRIGHT VISUAL ARTS harmless against damages, losses, expenses (including legal expenses) incurred as the result of a breach of the foregoing Warranty
COPYRIGHT VISUAL ARTS will account for and remit, to the ARTIST/RIGHTS HOLDER/ESTATE, all monies received for the licensing of the ARTIST/RIGHTS HOLDER/ESTATE's copyrights, less reasonable administration fees charged by COPYRIGHT VISUAL ARTS to Users or licensees, and applicable prescribed deductions made by foreign copyright collectives under reciprocal agreement. Such current fees and deductions are available upon request. This Agreement, including fees and deductions, is subject to the policies and regulations of COPYRIGHT VISUAL ARTS as they exist and are changed over time.
The ARTIST/RIGHTS HOLDER/ESTATE agrees to cooperate fully with COPYRIGHT VISUAL ARTS in all matters that are reasonably necessary to fulfil the terms of the Agreement. Should an ARTIST/RIGHTS HOLDER/ESTATE choose to submit works to Copyright Visual Arts Image Bank, ARTIST/RIGHTS HOLDER/ESTATE expressly and irrevocably authorizes Copyright Visual Arts to share, at its sole discretion, such images with CISAC’s AIR automatic image recognition project in order to ensure the protection of images on the Internet, including the prevention of illegal use on the Internet. CISAC is an international association of copyright collecting societies. AIR is a global image identification system whose function is to prevent illegal copies of images on the Internet. For certainty, Copyright Visual Arts is not obligated to so share such images with CISAC.
This Agreement is valid for one (1) year from the Effective Date of January 1st, 2026 and is automatically renewed in one-year terms unless one party gives written notice to the other 30 days prior to the end of any term. This Agreement contains the entire understanding of the ARTIST/RIGHTS HOLDER/ESTATE and COPYRIGHT VISUAL ARTS with reference to the Works and supersedes any earlier agreement between the parties.
The ARTIST/RIGHTS HOLDER/ESTATE agrees to a $50 annual affiliation fee to maintain active membership for the following calendar year (2026). This affiliation fee will be auto-deducted from the artist's annual royalty payout, provided that the annual royalty payout exceeds the annual affiliation fee. For RIGHTS HOLDER/ESTATES, COVA-DAAV clarifies that the $50 will be deducted per estate and not per estate holder. This deduction will come out of the total artist royalties before they are divided among the estate holders. This annual deduction agreement will be valid for one (1) year from December 31st, 2025 and will be automatically renewed in one-year terms unless one party gives written notice to the other 30 days prior to the end of any term.
In the event of winding up, bankruptcy, or dissolution of COPYRIGHT VISUAL ARTS, the rights granted in this Agreement shall revert to the ARTIST/RIGHTS HOLDER/ESTATE and the term of this Agreement shall end provided, however, that any agreements made or licenses issued prior to such an event remain in effect.
This Agreement is for the benefit of and is binding on the heirs, executors, personal representatives, assigns, or other successors of the ARTIST/RIGHTS HOLDER/ESTATE and COPYRIGHT VISUAL ARTS. Regardless of its place of physical or digital execution or performance, the provisions of this Agreement shall in all respects be construed according to, and the rights and liabilities of the parties hereto shall in all respects be governed by, the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein. The parties hereto attorn to the jurisdiction of the courts of Ontario located in the City of Ottawa.
Member Responsibilities:
It is the member’s responsibility to contact CARCC when changing address, contact information, or banking information to ensure that CARCC can continue to administer the properly the services stated in this agreement.
Rio Rules:
A set of rules passed in Rio de Janeiro in 2011 that state that copyright societies must always respect the moral rights of their member-artists. The societies confirm that they do not authorize any distortion, mutilation or other modification of the work likely to infringe the author’s moral rights without the members’ prior permission. Members will be contacted for permissions on the following requests:
monographic uses (including books, films, etc);
use of a large number of works by one author;
advertising uses;
merchandising uses;
cover uses (including for books, magazines, CDs, DVDs, etc);
The societies are entitled to grant licences based on applicable tariffs, without seeking the members’ prior permission, in particular with regard to:
cultural uses;
educational uses;
non-monographic uses;
press and television uses.
To ensure that the system of reciprocal representation of collective societies is not undermined and to ensure that the system is applied in a uniform manner – in the interests of all rightsholders the following rules for dealing with members are to be observed:
Direct licensing: subject to relevant laws in particular regarding non-commercial uses, members shall not circumvent the collective societies by authorizing users directly
Retroactive waivers: Members shall not grant fee waivers in particular with retroactive effect where societies have already engaged with the user to negotiate a license
Notification requirement: In any case, members shall notify their collective society upon reasonable notice in circumstances where they decide to license uses directly and/or free of charge
Definitions:
COPYRIGHT VISUAL ARTS is one of the business appellations of CARCC - Canadian Artists Representation Copyright Collective Inc.
Work means Artistic Works as defined in the Copyright Act and further shall extend to performance, film, video, or audio-visual works.
Affiliate means an Artist or Rights Holder or Estate who grants Copyright Visual Arts a mandate for the management of all his/her copyrights as well as her/his professional services related to projects concerning his-her Works.
User means any legal entity, whether individual, corporate, or otherwise, who makes use of an Artist's copyrights.
Exhibition Right means the right to present the Work (other than a map, chart, or plan) at a public exhibition, for a purpose other than for sale or hire.
Reproduction Right means the right to reproduce the Work, or any substantial part thereof, in any material form, including digital and electronic reproductions, by means now or hereafter known. Copyright Visual Arts includes the following two other rights under the category of Reproductions: Reprography Right and Communication by Telecommunication Right.
Reprography Right means the right to make visually perceivable copies of published Works by such means as photocopy, duplication (stencil), microform, or transcription / drawing for overhead or slide projection.
Communication by Telecommunication Right means the right to use a Work on radio or television and the right to the transmission of a work via cable, satellite, and telephone wires. This right also includes the right to the retransmission of the same Work.
Advertising: reproductions made of the Work for commercial/advertising purposes; that is, when the work is reproduced in conjunction with a product or institution, rather than promoting the Work or the Artist.
Professional Services means jury, writing, preparation and/or installation services provided by Artist for a fee