- Every copyright society shall conform to the following Code of Conduct as follows:-(1)Every Society shall make available on its website-(a)certificate of registration as a Copyright Society;(b)basic documents of governance such as memorandum of association, articles of association, constitution or charter;(c)list of all members of General Body;(d)names and address of Chairman, other members of the Governing Council and other officers of the society;(e)right or set of rights in the specific categories of works for which the copyright society has been authorised to issue or grant licences;(f)all schemes of the society;(g)annual report and audited accounts as approved by the General Body;(h)licence agreement formats;(i)details of all existing licences other than those clauses in the licence having commercial sensitivity;(j)foreign societies with whom there are agreements to collect royalties and the details of the agreement other than those clauses having commercial sensitivity;(k)details of the complaint or Grievances Cell; and(l)the code of conduct.(2)The members shall be-(a)treated fairly, honestly, impartially, courteously, and ensure that its dealings with them are more transparent;(b)provided with a copy of its basic document of governance such as memorandum of association, articles of association, constitution, charter, Tariff Scheme and Distributor scheme at the time of joining and or at any time on request;(c)provided with a copy of the document enumerating the powers and responsibilities of each member including chairman and members of the Governing Council and(d)provided with -(i)the basis for calculating royalties to be paid to the members;(ii)the manner and frequency of payments to the members; and(iii)the general nature of deduction out of total income before distribution.(3)Every society shall distribute payment to its members in accordance with its Distribution Scheme.(4)Every society shall treat licences fairly, honestly, impartially and courteously and ensure that its dealing with licensees are more transparent.(5)Every society shall observe the following while fixing Tariff Scheme, namely :-(a)licence fee to be fair and reasonable;(b)take note of the value of the rights of the works;(c)the purpose and manner in which the rights are to be exploited;(d)any relevant decisions of the Board; and(e)in case the Tariff Scheme is for the use by an industry the important role played by that industry in promoting dissemination of works and their contribution to the national economy and as far as possible in consultation with licensees.(6)Every society shall provided for the facility for on-line application, payment of royalties and for issue of licensee online, as far as it is practicable.(7)Every society shall ensure -(a)that the Governing Council members are accountable to the General Body;(b)maintenance of proper and complete financial records, including the collection and distribution of royalties and expenses; and(c)annual auditing of its accounts by a qualified Chartered Accountant.(8)Every society shall comply with procedure for dealing with complaints and grievances as follows:-(a)constitute a complaint or grievances cell and shall post the same in its website;(b)information regarding how to make the complaint and reasonable assistance in the formulation and lodging of a complaint;(c)acknowledgement of the receipt of the complaint immediately upon receipt of the complaint;(d)verify the nature of the complaint and the details of the complainant;(e)examine the complaint and, if necessary give an opportunity of hearing to the complainant;(f)dispose of the complaint, with a period of two months and provide a written response to the complainant;(g)make available adequate resources for handling and resolving complaints; and(h)periodical review of complaints handling and resolving procedures and their mechanism.
