ASCRL

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ASCRL MEMBERSHIP AGREEMENT

This agreement is between You and "ASCRL," as follows:

The American Society for Collective Rights Licensing, Inc., is an independent collecting, administration, and distribution society whose mission it is to serve Authors and Copyright Owners of visual works. As used in this ASCRL Membership Agreement, the term "ASCRL" means the American Society for Collective Rights Licensing, Inc.
The term "You," and or "you," (and possession forms), shall mean and refer to the author and / or copyright owner for whom the ASCRL Membership . The terms also include any person, firm, or entity owned or controlled by you.
The term "ASCRL Membership Agreement" means the ASCRL Membership agreement, as amended from time to time in accordance with the terms of the ASCRL Membership Agreement, and it includes seven (VII) sections:
- Part I. Qualifying and Maintaining ASCRL Membership. (This section of the ASCRL Membership Agreement explains conditions for membership and maintaining membership status).
  View Part I
- Part II. The ASCRL Mandate. (This section of the ASCRL Membership Agreement is where you authorize ASCRL to represent your foreign reprographic rights)
  View Part II
- Part III. The "Reprographic Rights" covered by the ASCRL Membership Agreement and the ASCRL Mandate include those rights that are derived from:
  (i) Statutory systems in foreign countries where foreign law establishes permissible uses and rates.
  (ii) Compulsory systems in foreign countries where foreign law establishes permissible uses and where the rates are negotiated by a foreign collective.
  (iii) Extended compulsory systems in foreign countries in which foreign law establishes permissible uses and where rates are negotiated by a foreign collective and where non collective members may apply for funds.
  (iv) Mandatory administrative systems in foreign countries where foreign law mandates that administration of use fees takes place through a collective.
  (v) Obligatory collective systems in foreign countries where, under foreign law, the administration of rights is voluntary but the foreign law mandates that rights owners be represented by a collective for administration.
  (vi) Operator, equipment, copier, and or media tax and or levy systems in foreign countries where foreign law mandates taxes, levies, fees, and other collections for operators, equipment, andor copying(including for example and without limitation private copying) in a foreign country.
  (vii) Collective systems in foreign countries where uses, rates, and or fees are established or negotiated by a foreign collective.
  (viii) Additional rights that may be recognized by foreign countries under foreign legal systems, where such legal systems provide for involuntary representation or administration of rights and do not require the consent of copyright owners or authors for the purpose of collecting, administering, and or distributing funds(including, without limitation, public lending and or library lending rights).
  View Part III
- Part IV. The ASCRL Claims And Distribution Process. (This section of the ASCRL Membership Agreement explains how the ASCRL claims system works and how it is administered by ASCRL).
  View Part IV
- Part V. The ASCRL Standard Legal Terms. (This section of the ASCRL Membership Agreement contains legal terms that apply to the ASCRL Mandate and Membership Agreement).
  View Part V
- Part VI. The Agency Agreement. (This section of the ASCRL Membership Agreement contains terms that are applicable if you appoint an agent to receive funds for you).
  View Part VI
- Part VII. ASCRL General Data Protection Rules. (This section of the ASCRL Membership Agreement contains terms that concern ASCRL's handling of your personal information.
  View Part VII
The term "ASCRL Mandate" means the ASCRL Mandate that is in effect from time to time, and as amended in accordance with the ASCRL Mandate, and the ASCRL Membership Agreement. The ASCRL Mandate may be separately executed by you, for example, when you register as an ASCRL Member. The ASCRL Mandate incorporates, and is subject to the terms of, the ASCRL Membership Agreement, whether or not the ASCRL Mandate and ASCRL Membership Agreement are separately executed by you.
By Clicking the "submit" button below you represent and agree that you have familiarized yourself with the ASCRL Mandate and the ASCRL Membership Agreement viewable [here]. (These documents also appear on the ASCRL Website). You further and expressly agree to be bound by all of the terms of the ASCRL Mandate and the ASCRL Membership Agreement, which are legally binding documents.
You agree that your electronic signature to and submission of these documents shall be binding under the District of Columbia Electronic Signature Act. To agree, enter your name here in the electronic signature format: "/Your First and Last Name/" and click the SUBMIT Button below.

Welcome to ASCRL!

We look forward to working with you to create an additional income stream from your works. For more information on how ASCRL works, please go to https://www.ascrl.org/how-it-works.html.

Examples of three visual works published in the United States are required for eligibility to receive claims from ASCRL. These works are entered into the on-line system once there is a claim open for your genre. This is simply a minimum requirement. You may enter more specific works if you like, however it will not affect the amount of your distribution for non-title/non-author specific reprographic claims. I know, this is confusing, so let me explain.

The funds we are currently distributing are primarily for reprographic use overseas. When an individual or business makes copies of works in many EU and Asian countries a small amount of money is collected because they assume that what is being copied is rights protected. In most cases, they do not currently keep track of what is being copied. Surveys are done to determine how much of what was copied is photo, how much was illustration and how much was text. The country of origin is also surveyed. These funds are maintained by Collecting Societies who then send the money to entities like ASCRL for distribution to local rights holders and creators. In some cases, you are entitled to a share of the royalties as the creator even if you are no longer the rights holder.

So why are you specifically being paid? A leap of faith is made. There is an assumption made that if you have works published in the United States, there is a likelihood that these works have been copied overseas and you are entitled to compensation. In the not too distant future, the actual works copied will be tracked and the payments will be for documented use.

ASCRL uses the information in your on line claim on the number of works and the number of times these works have been published to create tiers within any given distribution. Those members with more works in publication and more works reproduced will receive a higher ranking than members with fewer works. This ranking will be used to determine your tier within any given distribution. You may update this info once there is a claim open for your category of visual work. Your dashboard will indicate when you are eligible for a particular claim. Include numbers for works that are likely to still be in print or are on the Web that could be easily copied. Be reasonable and honest. ASCRL reserves the right to audit any claim. You distribution will appear in your bank account as an item from Music Reports. We are working to change this to ASCRL, but the banks move slowly!

When a claim is available, here is how to update your info regarding number of works and number of times published:

Log in to your Dashboard
Select Make/Edit Claim
When Publications page opens hit EDIT on bottom left
Now hit NEXT on bottom left
This is where you can adjust the number of works published and the number of times they have been published
Hit NEXT on bottom left of page
Hit Submit Claim

Feel free to contact me directly with any questions - em@ascrl.org

Thanks for your support and participation.

Eugene Mopsik,
CEO ASCRL

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ASCRL REGISTRATION

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Want to Join ASCRL? Registration:

To confirm your agreement to the ASCRL Membership Agreement, the Mandate included in the agreement, and General Data Protection Rules that are set forth in the agreement, please check the applicable boxes below.