Copyright Agency, Viscopy merger given the green light

The Copyright Agency and Viscopy will formally merge on 30 November 2017 after a five-year ‘services agreement’.

Members of the two rights management organisations voted overwhelmingly in support of the merger. The Scheme of Arrangement was also approved by the Supreme Court and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

Viscopy’s Australian and New Zealand visual arts members will now automatically become members of the Copyright Agency, with the creation of a new ‘artist member’ class of membership.

The Viscopy board has nominated current Viscopy director Oliver Watts to be the first artist director on the Copyright Agency Board until the 2018 AGM, when artist members will vote on the appointment.

The two organisations represent around 40,000 direct and in-direct members, including visual artists, illustrators, writers and publishers.

Category: Local news