Canada Gazette, Part I, Volume 156, Number 32: Supplement 3

August 6, 2022

SUPPLEMENT Vol. 156, No. 32

Canada Gazette

Part I

OTTAWA, Saturday, August 6, 2022

COPYRIGHT BOARD

SOCAN Tariff 22.G – Internet - Other Uses of Music - Game Sites (2007-2019)

Citation: 2022 CB 7-T
See also: SOCAN Tariff 22.G (2007-2019), 2022 CB 7

Published pursuant to section 70.1 of the Copyright Act

Lara Taylor
Secretary General
613‑952‑8621 (telephone)
registry-greffe@cb-cda.gc.ca (email)

SOCAN TARIFF 22.G – INTERNET - OTHER USES OF MUSIC - GAME SITES (2007-2019)

Application

1. (1) This tariff sets the royalties to be paid for the communication to the public by telecommunication of works in SOCAN’s repertoire by means of Internet transmissions or similar transmission facilities in connection with a service ordinarily accessed to download or play games, including gambling, in the years 2007 to 2019, including from November 7, 2012, onward making works available to the public by telecommunication in a way that allows a member of the public to have access to them from a place and at a time individually chosen by that member of the public.

(2) This tariff does not apply to uses covered by other applicable tariffs, including Tariffs 16 (Background Music Suppliers), 22.A (Internet – Online Music Services) and 24 (Ringtones).

Definitions

2. In this tariff,

“audio page impression”
means a page impression that allows a person to hear a sound. (« consultation de page audio »)
“Internet-related revenues”
means all revenues generated by Internet-related activities, including membership, subscription and other access fees, advertising, product placement, promotion, sponsorship, net revenues from the sale of goods or services and commissions on third-party transactions, but excluding
  • (a) revenues that are already included in calculating royalties pursuant to another SOCAN tariff;
  • (b) revenues generated by an Internet-based activity that is subject to another SOCAN tariff;
  • (c) agency commissions;
  • (d) the fair market value of any advertising production services provided by the service;
  • (e) network usage and other connectivity access fees; and
  • (f) revenues received from the service’s customers for their purchase of permanent copies of games that are delivered to them by digital download from the service onto their local storage device. (« recettes d’Internet »)
“page impression”
means a request to load a single page from a service. (« consultation de page »)
“service”
means a person or corporation that communicates musical works in SOCAN’s repertoire to the public — including by making those works available to be accessed by members of the public at a time and place of each member’s choosing — through a platform used to play games, including, for example,
  • (a) operators of websites that enable members of the public to play web-based games on browsers without first needing to download the entire game onto their local storage devices;
  • (b) providers and operators of game-streaming platforms, including virtual worlds, online metaverses, and virtual or augmented reality services and platforms;
  • (c) developers and publishers of game apps for mobile devices, TV sets, set-top boxes, and game consoles that allow for streaming of game content; and
  • (d) game publishers who authorize others to communicate musical works to the public by telecommunication in the course of distributing or hosting their game content. (« service »)
“year”
means a calendar year. (« année »)

Royalties

3. The royalties payable by a service ordinarily accessed to download or play games, including gambling, are

A × B × [1 − (C × D)]
where
(A)
is 0.8 per cent of the service’s Internet-related revenues,
(B)
is the ratio of audio page impressions to all page impressions, if that ratio is provided to SOCAN and 1 if not,
(C)
is 0.95 for a Canadian service and 1 for any other service, and
(D)
is
  • (i) the ratio of non-Canadian page impressions to all page impressions, if that ratio is provided to SOCAN; and
  • (ii) if not, 0 for a Canadian service and 0.9 for any other service, subject to a minimum fee of $15 per year.

Reporting Requirements

4. (1) Subject to subsection (2), royalties payable pursuant to section 3 shall be calculated and paid yearly.

(2) As soon as the royalties payable for a year exceed $350, payments for the rest of that year and for the following year shall be made on a quarterly basis.

5. (1) No later than 30 days after the end of the year, a service subject to subsection 4(1) shall pay the royalties for that year and shall report the information used to calculate the royalties.

(2) No later than 30 days after the end of the quarter, a service subject to subsection 4(2) shall pay the royalties for that quarter and shall report the information used to calculate the royalties.

6. (1) Upon receipt of a written request from SOCAN, a service shall provide, with respect to each musical work the service transmitted during the days listed in the request,

(2) A service shall provide the information set out in subsection (1) in electronic format where possible, otherwise in writing, no later than 14 days after the end of the month to which it relates.

(3) A service is not required to provide the information set out in subsection (1) with respect to more than 14 days in a year.

Audit

7. SOCAN shall have the right to audit the books and records of a service, on reasonable notice and during normal business hours, to verify the statements rendered and the royalties payable.

Terms and Conditions

8. Any amount not received by the due date shall bear interest from that date until the date the amount is received. Interest shall be calculated daily, at a rate equal to one per cent above the Bank Rate effective on the last day of the previous month (as published by the Bank of Canada). Interest shall not compound.

9. All amounts payable under this tariff are exclusive of any federal, provincial or other governmental taxes or levies of any kind.