MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwire) -- 11/05/12 -- The Copyright Board of Canada issued a ruling on November 2 in favour of authors, composers and music publishers represented by SODRAC in connection with the arbitration proceedings involving the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/Societe Radio-Canada (CBC/SRC) and Astral's specialty TV channels (with the exception of MusiquePlus). In its application, SODRAC had asked the Copyright Board to confirm the framework for exercising the rights to reproduce its members' musical works by these TV broadcasters from 2008 to 2012 and to validate the royalties to be collected.

SODRAC is satisfied with the Copyright Board's decision since its proposed business model has been endorsed and the value of exercising the rights to reproduce musical works by these TV broadcasters has been crystallized. SODRAC's members will benefit from this decision, which pertains to a sector in which SODRAC has gained distinction over many years by collecting and distributing royalties for the audiovisual use of its members' works.

"This decision is in keeping with our efforts to ensure that our author, composer and music publisher members enjoy the benefits associated with the various uses of their works throughout their works' economic life," said Alain Lauzon, SODRAC's General Manager. "We have not hesitated to invest the necessary resources on our members' behalf in order to safeguard their rights. Today we are pleased that our members will reap the rewards of their works' success in the high-growth audiovisual market."

"We believe that the Copyright Board carefully weighed the parties' positions," added Martin Lavallee, SODRAC's Director of Licensing and Legal Affairs. "Following this ruling, we now hope to move forward as we continue to build on our business relationships with our audiovisual partners."

The Copyright Board also certified SODRAC's Tariff No. 5 for the 2009-2012 period and established the royalties to be collected for reproductions of musical works embedded in cinematographic works for the purpose of distributing copies of such works. Under this tariff, a per-minute rate will now apply. At SODRAC's request, the Copyright Board certified a rate for copies distributed for theatrical exhibition purposes, in addition to those distributed for private use.

SODRAC is a collective management society that specializes in copyright clearance for reproduction of musical works of authors, composers and music publishers (since 1985) and for works of art and crafts (since 1997). SODRAC distributes the royalties it collects among its 6,000 members in Canada, as well as among the foreign companies and rights holders it represents in Canada.