The very important topic of royalty distribution is addressed in Part VIII of the Copyright Act. Like collection, responsibility for distributing private copying royalties rests with copyright holders directly. This is because private copying royalties are not monies collected for public purposes but income for individual copyright holders. For practical reasons, the Act also stipulates that distribution be handled centrally, by a body designated by the Copyright Board. In all of its decisions to date, the Copyright Board has assigned this role to the Canadian Private Copying Collective or CPCC. CPCC is an umbrella organization that represents songwriters, recording artists, music publishers and record companies -- the groups on whose behalf private copying royalties are collected.
 
 

The Copyright Act identifies the general types of copyright holder on whose behalf private copying royalties are collected and are eligible for payment. Songwriters, music publishers, recording artists and record companies – those with rights in the music copied – are all eligible. While songwriters and music publishers are eligible regardless of nationality, only Canadian recording artists and record companies may receive payments under current law.
 
 
Responsibility for distributing private copying royalties rests with CPCC, the body that also collects the royalties. This is a role assigned to CPCC by the Copyright Board. The Copyright Board also designates the proportion of total royalties that forms the basis of distributions amongst each of the three basic groups eligible to receive payments: songwriters and publishers, recording artists, and record companies. Like the assignment of responsibility for distribution, these allocations are set down in the private copying tariffs .* From there, CPCC must divide the funds amongst individual copyright holders. Conservatively, one song will trigger as many as 12 payments. Although it has taken similar but bigger organizations in other countries far longer to effect their first distributions, CPCC began making payments early in 2003. In January, CPCC carried out the first of a series of payments being made from the over $28 million in private copying royalties available for distribution from 2000 and 2001. 2003 will also see payment from the additional $26 million available from 2002. CPCC has devised a process that will permit these funds to be distributed fairly amongst tens of thousands of copyright holders. A non-profit corporation run by copyright holders, CPCC withholds only those funds necessary to defray its costs of administration.
* Allocations for 2000 differ from those set out s. 5 of the Private Copying Tariff, 1999-2000, reflecting instead allocations previously agreed between CPCC member collectives. This agreement has been filed with the Copyright Board and is acknowledged by it as a legitimate basis of payment.