The Copyright Rules

THE COPYRIGHT RULES, 2013

[As amended by the Copyright (Amendment) Rules, 2021]

CHAPTER XI – COPYRIGHT SOCIETIES

44.Conditions for submission of application for registration of copyright society.—

(1) Any association of persons, having an independent legal personality, comprising seven or more authors and other owners of rights (hereinafter referred to as “the applicant”) formed for the purpose of carrying on the business of issuing or granting licences in respect of a right or set of rights in specific categories of works may file with the Registrar of Copyrights an application in Form VIII for submission to the Central Government for grant of permission to carry on such business and for its registration as a copyright society. The Central Government may grant registration of the society for a period of five years under sub-section (3A) of section 33.
(2) An application under sub-rule (1) of rule 44 shall be signed by the Chairman, all other members of the Governing Council (by whatever name called) with such number of persons elected from among the members of the society consisting of equal number of authors and other owners of right, if any, for the purpose of the administration of the society and the Chief Executive Officer of the applicant (who need not be a member).
(3) The business of issuing or granting licence in respect of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works incorporated in a cinematograph film or sound recording shall be carried out only through a copyright society duly registered under section 33 of the Act.

45.Membership of Copyright Society.—

Membership of every copyright society shall be open to all the authors and other owners of a right or set of rights in specific categories of works for which it is registered.

46.Conditions for grant of permission to carry on copyright business.—

(1) An applicant referred to in rule 44 for registration of it as a copyright society shall not be eligible to be considered for such registration unless—
(i) the instrument by which the applicant is established or incorporated creates a commitment on it to deal with only the business of issuing or granting licences in respect of a right or set of rights in specific categories of works and other activities ancillary thereto; and
(ii) the applicant is willing to comply with the provisions of the Act and the rules made thereunder.
(2) The applicant shall not carry out the business by way of sub-licensing or transferring the rights of collection and distribution of royalties in respect of a right or set of rights in specific categories of works to any other person or copyright society:
Provided that applicant may enter into agreement with any foreign society or organisation administering rights corresponding to the right or set of rights administered by the applicant to entrust to such foreign society or organisation the administration in any foreign country of the right or set of rights administered by the applicant, or for administering in India the rights administered in a foreign country by such foreign society or organisation under sub-section (2) of section 34 of the Act.
Explanation: For the purpose of this chapter “instrument” means the memorandum and articles of association.

47.Application and conditions for re-registration or renewal of existing copyright societies.—

(1) A Copyright society registered section 33 and desirous of carrying on the business as a copyright society shall submit an application for re- registration in Form-IX to the Registrar of Copyrights within a period two months from the date of Coming into force of these rules.
(2) A Copyright society registered under this chapter may apply for renewal of its registration within a period of three months before the expiry of its registration. The application for such renewal shall be made to the Registrar of Copyrights in Form-IX for submission to Central Government for grant of permission to continue with its business and the Central Government may renew the registration of the society for a further period of five years after considering the report of the Registrar of Copyrights on the working of the copyright society.
(3) In case of renewal of registration the applicant shall submit a copy of resolution passed by the General Body declaring that all the royalties collected till the previous accounting year have been distributed to all accessible members and no complaint in this regard is pending.
(4) The applicant in case of re-registration or renewal of registration shall submit necessary documents indicating re-election to the Governing Council including its Chairman.

48.Documents accompanying applications.—

Every application made under rules 44 and 47 shall be accompanied by—
(a) a true copy of the instrument by which the applicant is established or incorporated;
(b) the consent in writing of the individuals named in the application to act as members of the Governing Council of the applicant;
(c) a declaration containing the objectives of the applicant, the bodies through which it will function and arrangements for accounting and auditing;
(d) an undertaking to the effect that the instrument by which the applicant is established or incorporated provides for conforming the same to the provisions of the Act and these rules;
(e) a copy of the Register of authors and owners containing the list of the authors and other owners of rights, their names and addresses;
(f) a statement as to the changes, if any, made in the instrument since the last General Body in case of application made under rule 47; and
(g) copies of various schemes as mentioned in this chapter as approved by the General Body in case of application made under rule 47.

49.Conditions for registration of a copyright society.—

(1) When an application for registration is submitted to the Central Government through the Registrar of Copyrights, that Government may, within a period of one hundred and eighty days from the date of its receipt by the Registrar of Copyrights either register the applicant as a copyright society or, if—
(i) the applicant has no professional competence to carry on its business or has no sufficient funds to manage its affairs; or
(ii) there exists another copyright society registered under the Act for administering the same right or set of rights in the specific categories of works and it is well functioning; or
(iii) the Central Government has reason to believe that the members of the applicant are not bona fide copyright authors or other owners or they have not voluntarily signed the instrument setting up the applicant or the application for registration; or
(iv) the application is found to be incomplete in any respect, reject the application;
(v) Provided that no such application shall be rejected without giving an opportunity of being heard to the applicants.
(2) Upon the registration of a copyright society by the Central Government, the Registrar of Copyrights shall issue a certificate of registration in Form-X under his hand and seal.
(3) On and from the date of its registration as specified in the certificate of registration, the copyright society shall be entitled to commence and carry on the permitted copyright business in the name by which it has been so registered and the applicant shall-
(a) maintain its own website giving all information pertaining to its activities; and
(b) have proper infrastructure such as office building and necessary officials for management such as Chief Executive Officer, licensing officers, legal officers and accountants and other required staff appointed at the time of applying for registration.
(4) The Copyright Society shall carry on business of issuing or granting licences only in respect of the right or the set of rights in the specific categories of works for which it is registered and shall not issue or grant licence in respect of any other right or set of rights in those or other categories of works for which it is not registered.

50.Order of inquiry, suspension of registration and appointment of administrator.—

(1) If the Central Government, on a complaint of the Registrar of Copyrights or a member of the copyright society, has reason to believe that the copyright society is being managed in a manner detrimental to the interests of its members concerned or for non-compliance of requirements under sections 33A, sub- section (3) of section 35 and section 36 of the Act or any change carried out in the instrument by which the copyright society is established or incorporated and registered by the Central Government, without prior notice to it shall, provide a copy of the complaint to the society and require the society to submit a written statement within fifteen working days.
(2) If, after considering the written statement furnished by the society, the Central Government is prima facie satisfied:-
(a) it shall order an inquiry under sub-section (4) of section 33, into the allegations and appoint an inquiry officer for holding an inquiry. During inquiry, if the Central Government is of the opinion that in the interests of the members concerned, it is necessary so to do, it may, by order, suspend the registration of the society for a period not exceeding one year, and shall appoint an administrator to discharge the functions of the copyright society; or
(b) it may, in the interests of the members concerned, suspend the registration of the society for a period not exceeding one year and appoint an administrator to discharge the functions of the copyright society and further order an inquiry as per clause (a).
(3) The person appointed as administrator shall be a person with sufficient experience in administration or accounting of copyright matters.

51.Procedure for holding Inquiry.—

(1) The inquiry officer appointed under Rule 50 shall conduct the inquiry having regard to the principles of natural justice.
(2) The inquiry officer may, if he considers necessary, engage a chartered accountant or an audit officer in the office of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India or any legal, financial, copyright consultant to assist him in the inquiry.
(3) The copyright society concerned shall render all assistance and shall make available all such documents as may be called for by the inquiry officer to enable him to complete the inquiry within a period of three months or such further time as may be allowed by the Central Government.

52.Powers and Functions of the Administrator.—

(1) On appointment of the administrator under rule 50 read with sub-section (5) of section 33 of the Act, all powers of the copyright society shall vest in him and all other representative bodies or committees of the copyright society other than the general body shall stand dissolved.
(2) The administrator shall arrange for the reconstitution of the dissolved bodies before the expiry of the period of suspension failing which, the bodies so superseded shall stand revived at the end of the period of suspension for their remaining term, excluding the period of suspension.

53.Cancellation of registration of a copyright society.—

The registration of a copyright society as such may be cancelled by the Central Government after giving the copyright society a reasonable opportunity of being heard, if —
(a) any of the particulars furnished in the application for registration is, at any time, found to be untrue or incorrect and misleading in any manner; or
(b) after holding an inquiry by an officer duly appointed by the Central Government, the Central Government is satisfied that-
(i) the copyright society failed to cooperate with the inquiry officer; or
(ii) the complaints against the copyright society are found to be true; or
(iii) the copyright society is being managed in a manner detrimental to the interests of the members concerned; or
(iv) the copyright society persistently fails to manage its affairs properly; or
(v) the copyright society failed to distribute the royalties as per the scheme; or
(vi) the copyright society persistently fails to properly maintain its accounts and get them audited; or
(vii) the copyright society utilises its funds for purposes other than those mentioned in the instrument; or
(c) the society has not complied with-
(i) section 33A of the Act regarding the publication of Tariff scheme by the copyright society; or
(ii) sub-section 3 of section 35 of the Act regarding equal representation of authors and other owners of rights in the Governing Council of copyright society as specified in rule 44; or
(iii) section 36 of the Act regarding submission of returns and reports to the Registrar of Copyrights by copyright society; or
(iv) the procedure for obtaining approval of authors and other owners of right for collection and distribution of royalty; or
(d) the society is issuing or granting licence in respect of the right or set of rights in the specific category of works for which it is not registered.

54.Conditions subject to which a copyright society may accept authorization and an author or other owner of rights may withdraw such authorization.-

(1) A copyright society may accept from an author or other owner of rights or his duly authorized agent, exclusive authorisation to administer the right or the set of rights in the specific categories of works for which the copyright society is registered, if such author or other owner or such agent enters into an agreement, in writing, with the copyright society specifying the rights to be administered, the duration for which such rights are authorised to be administered, the quantum of royalty agreed to and the frequency at which such royalty shall be paid by the copyright society in accordance with its Schemes of Tariff and Distribution:
Provided that in case of literary or musical works included, in a cinematograph film or sound recording the share of royalty other than for communication of the work along with the cinematograph film in a cinema hall shall be on equal basis between the author of the work and the owner of film or sound recording, as the case may be.
(2) The copyright society shall not impose any condition for distribution of royalties collected to author or other owner of rights.
(3) The author or other owner of rights shall without prejudice to the rights under the agreement and subject to the condition of a prior notice of sixty days, be free to withdraw such authorization in case the copyright society fails to fulfil its commitments as laid down in the agreement.
(4) The right to receive royalty, for any literary or musical work included in the cinematograph film, shared on equal basis with the assignee of copyright for the utilisation of such work in any form other than for the communication to the public of the work along with the cinematograph film in a cinema hall shall not be assigned to any other copyright society other than to the society for which it is intended to be registered.
(5) The right to receive royalty, for any literary or musical work included in the sound recording which does not form part of any cinematograph film, shared on equal basis for any utilization of such works with the assignee of copyright shall not be assigned to any other copyright society other than to the society for which it is intended to be registered.

55.Conditions subject to which a copyright society may issue licences, collect royalties and distribute such royalties.—

(1) A copyright society may issue licences and collect royalties in accordance with Tariff Scheme in relation to the right or the set of rights in the specific categories of works for which the copyright society is registered as it has been authorised to administer in writing by the members for the period for which it has been so authorised.
(2) The royalty so collected shall be distributed in accordance with the Distribution Scheme subject to a deduction not exceeding fifteen per cent. of the annual total collection on account of administrative expenses incurred by the copyright society and a further deduction not exceeding five per cent. for the Welfare Scheme under rule 67:
Provided that a copyright society may during the initial period of two years of its registration deduct up to twenty percent of the annual total collection on account of administrative expenses incurred by the society.
(3) The copyright society in relation to collection of royalty under sub-rule (1) and distribution of royalty under sub-rule (2) of this rule, shall create a system of payment through electronic modes and shall establish a system through which the payments so made are traceable.

56.Tariff Scheme.—

(1) As soon as may be, but in no case later than three months from the date on which a copyright society has become entitled to commence its copyright business, it shall frame and publish a scheme of tariff to be called the “Tariff Scheme” under section 33A of the Act setting out the nature and quantum of royalties which it proposes to collect in respect of the right or the set of rights in the specific categories of works administered by it.
(2) Every copyright society shall display its Tariff Scheme by posting it on its website.
(3) The Tariff Scheme shall indicate the separate rates for-
(a) different categories of users;
(b) different media of exploitation, such as telephone, broadcast or internet;
(c) different types of exploitation whether by an individual or by groups or whether single or multiple use or for advertising;
(d) different durations of use and territory; and
(e) any other differentiation factor indicated by the society, as it may deem fit.
(4) While fixing the tariff the copyright society shall follow the guidelines issued by any Court or the Board, if any, and may consult the user groups.
(5) The copyright society shall collect the royalties from a licensee in advance where the Tariff Scheme provides for lump sum payment of royalties. In cases where the Tariff Scheme provides for payments in installments, each installment shall be collected in advance. However, in cases where the Tariff Scheme provides for the payment of royalties based on actual use, the copyright society may collect an advance at the time of issue of licence and settle the final payment based on actual use at the end of the period for which the licence is issued or granted.
Provided that the copyright society shall not receive any payment in the nature of minimum guarantee from a licensee whose royalty payments are based on actual use which are to be settled with the society at the end of the licence period except where, any exceptional circumstances are specifically included in the Tariff Scheme and the individual case has been approved by the Governing Council.
(6) The copyright society may revise the Tariff Scheme periodically but not earlier than a period of twelve months by following the rules. It shall publish the date of coming into of the revised Tariff Scheme at least before two months in advance and the same shall be posted on its website.

57.Appeal to the Board on Tariff Scheme.—

(1) Any person aggrieved by the Tariff Scheme may appeal to the Board under section 33A along with the fee specified in the Second Schedule.
(2) The Board, if satisfied with the ground of the appeal, shall-
(a) serve a copy the appeal to the copyright society; and
(b) give an opportunity to the appellant and also, to the copyright society, to be heard and may take such evidence in respect of the appeal, as it may deem fit.
(3) The appellant shall pay to the copyright society any interim tariff fixed by the Board that has fallen due before filing an appeal to the Board.
(4) The Board may after hearing the parties fix an interim tariff and direct the appellant to make the payment accordingly pending disposal of the appeal.
(5) The Board shall determine the Tariff Scheme of the copyright society under section 33A, after taking into consideration:
(a) the prevailing standards of royalties in regard to such commercial exploitation of works; and
(b) such other matters as may be considered relevant by the Board.
(6) The Board shall dispose of the appeal within a period of three months from the date of its filing.

58.Distribution Scheme.—

(1) A copyright society shall frame a scheme to be called the “distribution Scheme” setting out the procedure for distribution of royalties specified in the Tariff Scheme among the members whose names are entered in the Register of Authors and Owners maintained under clause (i) of rule 59 for the approval of the General Body of the society, as soon as may be, but in no case later than three months from the date on which a copyright society has become entitled to commence its copyright business.
(2) The distribution shall, reasonably, be in proportion to the royalty income of the copyright society derived from the grant of licences for right or the set of rights in the specific categories of works for which it is administering each author and other owners of right.
(3) There shall be no discrimination between authors and other owners of rights in the distribution of royalties by the copyright society.
(4) While distributing the royalties the copyright society shall inform all members about the basis on which such amount of royalties are being distributed.
(5) The Distribution Scheme shall aim to ensure that all royalty distributions are fair, accurate, cost effective and without any unknown or hidden cross-subsidies.
(6) The society shall fix parameters in a transparent manner for determining the share of distribution of its members and reveal the details of the same in a manner that is easily understandable to its members.
(7) The distribution of royalties shall be based on actual use or reliable statistical data that fairly represent the commercial exploitation of the licensed rights.
(8) The Distribution Scheme shall ensure that the royalties to all members are distributed at least once in a quarter.
(9) The copyright society shall not make any payment in the nature of minimum guarantee to its members against the share of royalties due to its members.
(10) The royalties collected based on the Tariff Scheme for the licensing of the rights in the literary or musical works included in a cinematograph film or sound recording shall be shared on an equal basis with the authors of literary or musical works and the owners of rights in cinematograph film or sound recording under sub-section (1) of section 18.
(11) A copyright society must ensure that where the royalty cannot be distributed within the time specified in sub-rule (8) as the relevant author or other owner could not be identified or located; such royalties are kept separate in the accounts of the copyright society.
(12) A copyright society must take all necessary measures to identify and locate the authors and other owners and must publish on its website, at the end of every quarter, the following information:
(a) the title of the work;
(b) the name of the author and other right owners of the work, as available; and
(c) any other relevant information available which could assist in identifying the right holder.
(13) In case the royalty due to author and other owners remains undistributed at the end of the period of three years from the end of the financial year in which collection of the royalty occurred, the copyright society shall transfer such amount to the welfare fund of the copyright society.

59.Management of Copyright Society.—

(1) Every copyright society shall have-
(a) a General Body consisting of all the authors and other owners of a right or set of rights in the specific categories of works for which the copyright society has been authorized to issue or grant licences;
(b) a Governing Council with a Chairman and a minimum of six other members; and
(c) a Chief Executive Officer (who may or may not be a member of the society).
(2) The General Body shall be the decision making body of the society. All the powers necessary for the purpose of effective management of the society shall be with the General Body and the Governing Council may act as per the directions of the Governing Body.
(3) The Chairman shall be elected by two-third of the majority of all the members present and voting in the General Body meeting of the Copyright Society.
(4) The Chairman of the Governing Council shall chair the General Body.
(5) The Chairman shall have the right to vote in the General Body and the Governing Council.
(6) The members other than the Chairman of the Governing Council shall represent equally from authors and other owners, elected from the General Body by the majority of members present and voting in the General Body meeting of the Copyright Society.
(7) The Chairman and other members of the Governing Council shall be elected for a term of two years and shall be eligible for re-election.
(8) The General Body may create sub-committees for preparing Tariff Scheme, Distribution Scheme, Welfare Scheme and such other matters relating thereto, under the supervision of the Governing Council.
(9) The General Body shall approve the instrument of the society including any subsequent changes made to it.

60.Approval of Schemes.—

(1) The copyright society shall call a General Body meeting to approve any Scheme, as soon as it has been prepared by the Governing Council in these rules.

(2) A notice of not less than twenty-one days for the meeting shall be given to every member and a copy of the proposed Scheme together with a note explaining the guiding principles followed in the making of the said Scheme shall be annexed to the notice and the same shall be posted on the website of the society.

(3) The notice under sub-rule (2) shall specify that any member who objects to the Scheme shall be entitled to withdraw the authorisation given to the copyright society to administer any right in his work from the date of commencement of the said Scheme.

(4) The copyright society shall keep a record of the members who have given their approval and those who have objected thereto.

(5) Approval of the Schemes shall be by a majority of members present in person and voting.

(6) The copyright society shall not amend any approved Scheme except with the prior approval of the General Body.

61.Meetings of the Society.—

(1) Every copyright society shall hold a General Body meeting of all its members as its annual General Body meeting before the 31st day of March every year.
(2) A special meeting of the General Body called extra ordinary General Body meeting of all its members may also be held, if considered necessary by two thirds majority of the Governing Council.
(3) The meetings of General Body and Governing Council shall be held in the town or city in which its registered office is situated or such other convenient place as decided by the Chairman of the society.
(4) The notice for General Body meeting shall be issued before twenty-one days of the meeting and it shall and specify the agenda, time, date and address of the venue of the meeting and the same shall be posted on the website of the society.
(5) Every member of the society shall have equal voting rights in General Body meetings.
(6) There shall be no discrimination between members who are authors and other owners of right.
(7) Quorum for meetings of the General Body shall be one third of the total members and in the case of lack of quorum the meeting may be adjourned for thirty minutes and then members present shall constitute quorum.
(8) Quorum for the meetings of Governing Council shall be one third of its total members other than the Chairman with equal number of authors and other owners.
(9) The Registrar of Copyrights shall be invited as an observer to all General Body meetings. The Registrar or his authorized representative may attend the said meeting.

62.Documents to be presented in the annual General Body meeting.—

Every copyright society shall place before its annual General Body meeting the following documents, namely:—
(i) an up-to-date list of the authors and other owners of right or the set of rights in the specific categories of works for which the copyright society has been authorised to issue or grant licences, their names and addresses as recorded in the Register of Authors and Owners maintained by the copyright society, as provided in sub-rule (i) of rule 64;
(ii) audited accounts of the society for the previous year;
(iii) the Tariff Scheme and the Distribution Scheme or any other scheme including the decision of the Copyright Board on the said Schemes, if any;
(iv) annual report as approved by the Governing Council, giving a full and detailed account of all its activities during the previous years;
(v) Budget estimates along with programme of action as approved by the Governing Council for the succeeding year;
(vi) the agreements, if any entered with foreign copyright societies under sub- section (2) section 34 of the Act;
(vii) any changes made in the instrument of registration of the society; and
(viii) any other document relating to the society that require approval of the General Body.
(ix) The annual transparency report as provided under rule 65A.

63.Accounts and audit.—

(1) Every copyright society shall maintain proper accounts of the royalties collected in a financial year, payments made out of such collections to the members and other recurring and nonrecurring expenditure incurred for meeting administrative and related matters, including the cost of litigations.
(2) The books of account shall be kept in the registered office of the society and shall be open for inspection of the members from time to time as per the conditions laid down by the General Body.
(3) Every copyright society shall get its accounts audited by a chartered accountant annually.

64.Records to be maintained by copyright societies.—

Every copyright society shall maintain the following registers in physical or digital format at its registered or administrative office-
(i) A register of authors and other owners to be called the “Register of Authors and Other Owners” in respect of the right or the set of rights in the specific categories of works for which the copyright society has been authorised to issue or grant licences. The register shall contain the names of the authors and other owners, their addresses, the nature of rights authorised to be administered by the copyright society, year of publication of the work, the date on which the copyright society becomes entitled to issue or grant licences and the duration of such entitlement, the territory for which the authorisation has been given and the rights that have been so authorised;
(ii) A register to be called the “Register of Agreements” containing a copy of every agreement entered into by the copyright society with the authors and other owners for the purpose;
(iii) A register to be called the “Register of Royalties” containing particulars of royalties and mentioning the names of persons or organizations and copy of the licence agreements from whom the royalties have been realised, and the amount so realised including the date of realization;
(iv) A register to be called the “Disbursement Register” containing details of disbursement of royalties made to each author or other owner of the right or set of rights in the specific categories of works, category-wise, mentioning the name of the author or other owner, nature of his right and the date and amount of disbursement of royalty made to him.

65.Returns to be filed by the copyright societies with the Registrar of Copyrights.—

Every copyright society shall file a return called the annual return with the Registrar of Copyrights within one month from the date of conclusion of each annual General Body meeting setting out the following details, namely:—
(i) the date of the annual General Body meeting held immediately preceding the filing of the annual return, the number of members who attended the meeting, agenda and the minutes of such meeting;
(ii) the up-to-date list of the members, their names and addresses as recorded in the Register of Authors and Owners maintained by the copyright society, as provided in rule 64;
(iii) audited accounts of the copyright society;
(iv) the Tariff Scheme, Distribution Scheme and other Schemes, if any;
(v) annual report approved by the General Body giving full and detailed account of all its activities during the year; and
(vi) the list of the members to whom royalties are not distributed and the reasons for the same; and
(vii) the list of the members to whom royalties have been distributed together with the amounts so distributed.
(viii) The annual transparency report as provided under Rule 65A.

65A.Annual transparency report. —

(1) The copyright society must draw up and make public a special report to be referred to as the annual transparency report for each financial year within six months following the end of that financial year. The copyright society shall publish on its website the annual transparency report and ensure that the annual transparency report remains available on its website for at least three years.
(2) The annual transparency report must contain the following information, namely:—
(a) report on the activities in the financial year;
(b) number of refusals to grant a licence;
(c) financial information on total royalties collected;
(d) the total royalties paid to author and other owners;
(e) the total royalties collected but not yet attributed to author and other owners;
(f) the total administrative deductions made from royalty collected;
(g) the details and use of the amounts deducted for the activities conducted under the welfare scheme as provided under rule 67; and
(h) Information on amounts received from and paid to the foreign societies or organisation.

66.Code of Conduct for copyright societies.—

Every copyright society shall conform to the following Code of Conduct as follows:-
(1) Every Society shall make available on its website-
(a) certificate of registration as a Copyright Society;
(b) basic documents of governance such as memorandum of association, articles of association, constitution or charter;
(c) list of all members of General Body;
(d) names and address of Chairman, other members of the Governing Council and other officers of the society;
(e) right or the set of rights in the specific categories of works for which the copyright society has been authorised to issue or grant licences;
(f) all schemes of the society;
(g) annual report and audited accounts as approved by the General Body;
(h) licence agreement formats;
(i) details of all existing licences other than those clauses in the licence having commercial sensitivity;
(j) foreign societies with whom there are agreements to collect royalties and the details of the agreement other than those clauses having commercial sensitivity;
(k) details of the complaint/Grievances Cell; and
(l) the code of conduct.
(m) the facility to search from the database of works forming part of the repertoire of the copyright society;
(n) the annual transparency report as approved by the General Body; and
(o) the details of the undistributed royalties on account of the work belonging to authors and other owners who could not be identified or located.
(2) The members shall be-
(a) treated fairly, honestly, impartially, courteously, and ensure that its dealings with them are more transparent;
(b) provided with a copy of its basic documents of governance such as memorandum of association, articles of association, constitution, charter, Tariff Scheme and Distribution Scheme at the time of joining and or at any time on request;
(c) provided with a copy of the document enumerating the powers and responsibilities of each member including Chairman and members of the Governing Council; and
(d) provided with-
(i) the basis for calculating royalties to be paid to the members;
(ii) the manner and frequency of payments to members; and
(iii) the general nature of deduction out of total income before distribution.
(3) Every society shall distribute payments to its members in accordance with its Distribution Scheme.
(4) Every society shall treat licensees fairly, honestly, impartially and courteously and ensure that its dealings with licensees are more transparent.
(5) Every society shall observe the following while fixing the Tariff Scheme, namely:-
(a) licence fee to be fair and reasonable;
(b) take note of the value of the rights of the works;
(c) the purpose and manner in which the rights are to be exploited;
(d) any relevant decisions of the Board;
(e) in case the Tariff Scheme is for the use by an industry the important role played by that industry in promoting, dissemination of works and their contribution to the national economy and as far as possible in consultation with licensees.
(6) Every society shall provide for the facility for on-line application, payment of royalties and for issue of licence on-line, as far as it is practicable.
(7) Every society shall ensure-
(a) that the Governing Council members are accountable to the General Body;
(b) maintenance of proper and complete financial records, including the collection and distribution of royalties and expenses; and
(c) annual auditing of its accounts by a qualified Chartered Accountant.
(8) Every society shall comply with procedure for dealing with complaints and grievances as follows:-
(a) constitute a complaint or grievances cell and shall post the same in its website;
(b) information regarding how to make the complaint and reasonable assistance in the formulation and lodging of a complaint;
(c) acknowledgement of the receipt of the complaint immediately upon receipt of the complaint;
(d) verify the nature of the complaint and the details of the complainant;
(e) examine the complaint and, if necessary give an opportunity of hearing to the complainant;
(f) dispose of the complaint, with a period of two months and provide a written response to the complainant;
(g) make available adequate resources for handling and resolving complaints; and
(h) periodical review of complaints handling and resolving procedures and mechanism.

67.Welfare fund of copyright society.—

Every Copyright society may frame a scheme for the welfare of its members as determined by its General Body and keep not more than five per cent. of its total royalties collected for implementing the scheme effectively and the amount that could not be distributed on account of non-accessibility of the members concerned.

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