Sometimes, we need to confirm who owns the rights to a work before we can make a payment. This happens when a work, such as an article or image has been used, and our research has indicated that a member is likely to be the rightsholder, but we need their confirmation before we make a payment. We call this a claim.

Why don’t you know who owns the work?

Copyright Agency administers a number of types of licence. In some there is a direct link between the owner and the work, while in others we use survey data that samples the use of works in a sector, e.g. education.

Do I have to make a claim every time there is a payment for the work?

No. You only need to claim the work once. All future payments for use of the work will be made automatically.

How do I make a claim?

Login to the Member Portal. Select Claims from the top right-hand menu.

This displays a list of Pending Claims.

Select 'Claim' to indicate that you own the rights to the work. The work will be linked to your account for future payments. When you select this option you are responsible for on-paying any other rightsholders who contributed to the work.

What do I do if I’m not the rightsholder to work listed under Pending Claims?

If you are not the rightsholder, you should select 'Unclaim' to indicates that you do not own the rights. The work will no longer be displayed under your Pending Claims. You can also select this option if you do own the rights to the work but don’t wish to receive payment under the licence scheme.

What do I do if I’m unsure if I’m the rightsholder?  

Select 'Defer'. This defers your claim giving you time to look at your ownership of the rights without holding up the entire claim. Deferred items are held over to the next payment distribution.

Where can I find more information?

If you want a detailed description of how we pay our members, a good place to start is the Copyright Agency Distribution Policy.