Organisations

Collective Management Organisations (or CMOs for short) have existed since the 18th Century. Their fundamental objective is to provide authors with an efficient and cost effective way to manage their rights around the world to ensure that their works are used in accordance with governing laws. Authors rely on CMOs to exercise their professions.

In the modern world, the role of CMOs is multi-dimensional but there are several key functions which they perform:

• Licensing of uses and users according (in most cases) to standardised and published tariffs and conditions
• Collection of royalties and their distribution to authors
• Political action in favour of the effective protection of authors’ rights. Such action is undertaken in national or international bodies, be they governmental or non-governmental, representing the creative community
• Social and cultural action to promote authors’ interests and safeguarding their well being

By managing the rights of creators and by simplifying the rights clearance process for users, CMOs make a valuable economic and cultural contribution to creative economies world-wide. CMOs play an essential role in de-risking the business of copyright.

"Think globally, act locally"

Following the national treatment principle enshrined in the Berne Convention, in any given territory foreign authors enjoy the same rights and are treated in the same way as nationals. Thus, within its territory, a CMO will apply the national legislation in the field of authors’ rights to national and foreign creators alike.

CISAC fosters a global network of collective administration organisations, within which this principle is upheld under reciprocal representation agreements. They allow organisations to administer foreign repertoires in their respective territories, exchange information and pay royalties to foreign right owners.