SOZA Membership
What are the terms and conditions to be met by a composer or writer of lyrics if he wants to be represented by SOZA?
First it is necessary to complete an application for SOZA membership.
The author willing to become SOZA member has to meet the following conditions:
a) To conclude a Representation Agreement with SOZA;
b) To pay an administrative fee to SOZA bank account charged for processing the application for SOZA membership. After the application for SOZA membership is delivered, SOZA shall send the membership candidate a draft of the Representation Agreement together with an invoice to pay the administrative fee for processing the application. The Supervisory Board shall decide about accepting the membership candidate within the period of 90 days after the application for SOZA membership is delivered. SOZA membership begins on the day when the Representation Agreement is signed by SOZA and by the membership candidate.
How can a publisher become SOZA member?
First it is necessary to complete an application for SOZA membership.
The publisher willing to become SOZA member has to meet the following conditions:
a) To submit valid publishing agreements, but for at least 10 musical works, and
b) To conclude a Representation Agreement with SOZA, and
c) To pay an administrative fee to the SOZA bank account charged for processing the application for SOZA membership. After the application for SOZA membership is delivered, SOZA shall send the membership candidate draft of the Representation Agreement together with an invoice to pay the administrative fee for processing the application. The Supervisory Board shall decide about accepting the membership candidate within the period of 90 days after the application for SOZA membership is delivered. SOZA membership begins on the day when the Representation Agreement is signed by SOZA and by the membership candidate.
Is it possible SOZA would represent copyright on individual works only?
SOZA member may specify one or more categories in which he excludes the collective rights management, however not for individual works.
Each SOZA member is obliged to inform SOZA in written about the exclusion of collective rights management at least one month before the contract with the user is concluded, through which he grants his approval to use his works, otherwise collective rights management shall be deemed as not excluded and the member as continuously represented in the extent previously agreed.
SOZA member shall specify the category or categories in his written notification about the exclusion of collective economic rights management, in which he excludes collective rights management.
Written form shall mean a document with rights holder’s signature certified by a notary to be delivered to the registered seat of SOZA in person or by mail. The written form is observed in case it is sent by an email from email address given by the member in the Representation Agreement, with an attached scan of the document with a certified signature.
SOZA shall take the representation over in a category or categories in which the member excluded collective rights management, based on the written application no sooner than after 6 months after the rights holder’s will about the exclusion of collective rights management is delivered to the registered seat of SOZA.
Should the rights holder exclude collective rights management in some category of collective rights management, SOZA shall not distribute royalties in that category to him, or the relevant share in unidentified fees.
Is it possible to be SOZA member and at the same time also a member of another collective rights management society abroad?
The authors may choose a collective rights management society they want to be represented by. SOZA may represent their copyright in the territory of the Slovak Republic. For the rest of the world they may be represented by any other foreign collective rights management society, or for individual countries they may be represented by respective collective rights management societies. It is however important to maintain exclusivity of rights in one territory and in the given time, i.e. it is not allowed to be represented by more collective rights management societies in one territory (e.g. the Slovak Republic) at the given time.
Is it possible to be a member of several Slovak collective rights management societies?
One category of rights applied in the territory of the Slovak Republic in one period of time may be managed only by one collective rights management society towards the rights holder. Should the author be e.g. also a performing artist, as a performing artist he may be represented in that part by another collective rights management society representing performing artists.