The Copyright Agency will make it easier for members to be paid their share of our payments directly.

In future, we will be asking publishers to provide this information for books when we know there’s a payment allocated to that work.

While we expect this to go smoothly in general, we will also have processes to resolve issues that arise.

How is this different to ‘CALdirect’ introduced in 2011?

We are now only requesting the information from publishers for books where there is likely to be a payment in upcoming distributions.

Authors and illustrators will have an opportunity to see the information provided by a publisher and let us know if there are any concerns. If a publisher does not provide payment share information after a request from us, authors and illustrators who are entitled to a share can request payment shares from the publisher via us. Authors and illustrators represented by agents can make the request via their agent. We will hold payments for the title until the publisher responds to the request.

If authors choose not to request to receive their payment share from Copyright Agency, they will receive their payment from their publisher. Author members linked to that work will see what works we have paid the publisher for. We do this to be transparent to our authors members about any payments that may be made on their behalf to publishers. 

What happens to share information provided to Copyright Agency in the past?

The Copyright Agency will retain the payment shares that have already been applied to works in our system and these will be available for your review.

Can shares be provided for other work types, like artistic works?

No, Copyright Agency will only be accepting shares for books. However, publishers can register payment shares for books where an illustrator is entitled to a share.

Can authors provide shares?

We will be accepting payment share information from Publishers but Authors can request shares for eligible books, and publishers will be reminded to act on these requests. Authors may provide payment share information only if titles have reverted to them by contacting Member Services.

What if an author requests shares but the publishers declines to provide them?

We will hold all payments relating to requested titles in suspense until we are able to resolve the issue. The matter may be escalated through our formal Disputes Resolution Process if required.

Can an author challenge the share provided by the publisher?

Yes. If Authors challenge the accuracy of the share provided, they are encouraged to contact the Publisher in the first instance to discuss the issue. The publisher will be able to correct it directly on the new Member Portal if they have simply made a mistake.

If the matter cannot be resolved directly, the Copyright Agency may suspend payment on a work and may escalate the issue through our Disputes Resolution process. Both parties can ‘Raise a case’ on the new Member Portal for determination if the issue is genuine and can be supported by documentation.

Will authors know how much their co-authors are receiving?

No. We will only be displaying an author’s own percentage share.

See also: What's changing about Claims, and What's Changing about Payments