NEWS RELEASE
Copyright compliance and creators' compensation:
City of Laval and Copibec take collaborative approach

Montreal, March 5, 2019 – Copibec is pleased to announce that it has reached an agreement with the city of Laval, Quebec, on the use of excerpts from content protected under the Copyright Act. The agreement makes it possible for the city’s elected officials and employees to conveniently and legally use copyrighted content while ensuring that creators receive compensation.

“We would like to commend the Laval municipal government on this initiative,” said Frédérique Couette, Copibec’s Executive Director. “Creators contribute to the city’s cultural and economic vitality. By making a commitment to pay royalties to content creators, Laval is recognizing the contribution made by creators as well as the importance of fair compensation for the use of their work.”

This agreement makes it easier for city employees to do their jobs by freeing them from the obligation to systematically request permission each time they use copyrighted content. Copibec is giving them access to an extensive repertoire (catalogue) of Canadian and foreign titles that they can use based on some clear and simple limits.

Under the agreement, Copibec and the city of Laval have confirmed their collaborative approach for a six-year term running from 2019-2025. Over the course of that period, the city is expected to pay about $137,000 to Copibec as compensation for using creators’ content.

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About Copibec
Copibec, whose official name is the Société québécoise de gestion collective des droits de reproduction, is a non-profit social enterprise created in 1997 by the Union des écrivaines et écrivains québécois (UNEQ) and the Association nationale des éditeurs de livres (ANEL) to manage the reproduction rights for content in print and digital formats. It has the authority to manage the reproduction rights for thousands of Quebec authors and publishers as well as the authors and publishers represented by reproduction rights organizations in 33 countries, including the United States, France and Belgium.

Source:
Kevin Charron
Communications Coordinator
[email protected] 
1-800-717-2022 ext. 249
www.copibec.ca