CARFAC National Services
An overview of CARFAC National services
As an affiliate, CARFAC BC utilizes several key national-level services provided by CARFAC National. Below you will find information about each and links to access them. You may also access these links directly under Services / National Services in the drop-down menu.
Contents
CARFAC-RAAV Minimum Recommended Fee Schedule
COVA-DAAV Copyright Collective
Certificate of Canadian Origin
International Association of Artist Cards
CARFAC-RAAV Minimum Recommended Fee Schedule
About
The CARFAC-RAAV Minimum Recommended Fee Schedule is similar to a minimum wage for artists. It sets minimum recommended rates for the use of artwork and for certain services that visual artists provide. Although these fees are recommendations, many organizations use them as a standard. This includes arts councils, galleries and the provincial government. They use the schedule as a base for fees, artist authenticity certification and grants.
We recommend that all artists use the schedule as a starting point when requesting fees in contracts or other arrangements. It is updated every year. The listed fees are minimums, so you can always ask for more. As an artist, you should be paid any time your work is shown, even if it is also for sale.
Contact us at CARFAC BC if you have questions about the fee schedule or how it applies to your situation. If we cannot answer your question, we will consult with representatives from CARFAC National. We encourage every artist to join our organization so that we can better support you.
A brief history of the fee schedule
Since 1968, CARFAC has issued its exhibition fee schedules. These schedules were developed from rates established by Jack Chambers and Tony Urquhart in 1968. They are updated every year through negotiation and use, and they reflect increases in the cost of living. All fees are considered minimum payments for the use of the copyrights or the professional services of visual and media artists.
Payment for the Exhibition Right became part of federal copyright law in 1988. This fee is required for the public exhibition of work created after June 7, 1988, in a public space where the gallery receives public funds. The exhibition fee applies only when the artwork is not being actively presented for sale or hire.
When artworks created after June 7, 1988, that belong to a gallery’s permanent collection are exhibited, a copyright exhibition fee must be paid. Copyright fees and royalties are subject to GST. The GST is not included in the listed fees.
COVA-DAAV Copyright Collective
COVA or Copyright Visual Art, is a not-for-profit copyright management society providing Author’s Rights administration for professional Canadian and Québécois visual and media artists. It provides users with comprehensive access to the artworks and professional services of its members. Its corporate name is Canadian Artists’ Representation Copyright Collective, and it operates under the business names Copyright Visual Arts and Droit d’auteur Arts visuels.
Copyright in Canada is automatic upon the creation of a work and usually lasts for the artist’s lifetime plus fifty years. Through its licensing services, COVA can help an artist protect copyright and benefit from it.
Copyright fees are a necessary and primary source of income for visual artists. Even after the original work is sold, the copyrights remain with the artist unless specifically assigned or separately sold. Thus, an artist can continue to generate revenue from a work that has been sold. Sold or not, a work may generate income through copyright use in exhibition, reproduction in books or magazines, digital reproduction on CD, publication on the internet, use in film or video and more. The possibilities are extensive.
Copyright Visual Arts represents nearly one thousand visual and media artists. More artists are becoming members of Copyright Visual Arts because they understand that the best way to increase the level of payment of copyright royalties for the use of their artworks is to gather within a copyright management society such as Copyright Visual Arts.
COVA’s members are called affiliates because being with COVA means that the artist is part of a collective rather than a member of another type of organization. Affiliation means that the artist assigns his or her copyrights to COVA for administration. Collective administration of copyright means that there is strength in numbers. Affiliation with COVA is separate from membership in CARFAC. An artist may be a COVA affiliate without being a member of CARFAC. Please note that communicating with CARFAC does not necessarily mean that COVA will be informed, so, for example, a change of address should be sent to both organizations.
Copyright Visual Arts responds to a shifting art economy in the digital age by providing effective tools to enable visual and media artists to achieve sustainable careers. Copyright Visual Arts facilitates broad access to the work of Canadian and Québécois artists through simple and effective online or person-to-person licensing.
When becoming an affiliate, the artist assigns copyright to COVA for administration, meaning authorizing and licensing uses of the artist’s works. Anytime an affiliate’s copyright is used, COVA must issue a licence to the user. This licence is a written permission required by the user to hold an exhibition, make a reproduction and so on. The licence specifies the terms of use, such as where and when an exhibition is to take place or the number of copies a user may make. It also specifies the fees to be paid for the use. COVA negotiates the fees based on the CARFAC Minimum Fee Schedule. The copyright fees due, plus administration fees and GST, are paid to COVA by the user, and COVA pays the artist.
Brief History
In 2014, CARCC restructured as a not-for-profit copyright management society, which now operates under the business name Copyright Visual Arts – Droits d’auteur Arts visuels. CARCC was founded by CARFAC in 1990 to assist artists in administering their copyrights. In 2015, RAAV became a partner in the governance of the society. Both artist associations and their copyright society work together to improve the socio-economic conditions of artists through the fair payment of royalties for the use of their artworks.
Certificate of Canadian Origin
These certificates function to identify original works of art of Canadian origin, allowing them to be temporarily exported abroad without GST implications. Approved by Revenue Canada and Customs and Excise, it is valid only when signed by another CARFAC member and signed and sealed by the CARFAC National office.
Please note that these certificates are for the process of returning artwork to Canada. Additional forms are often required to allow artwork to enter a foreign country. You should start this process at least a month in advance to ensure you have everything you need. If you will be paid for any service you provide while outside Canada, you need to apply several months in advance to get the proper visa.
Step 1: Print or download the certificates. You will need one for each artwork.
Step 2: Fill out the first two sections with information about yourself and your artwork.
Step 3: Have a CARFAC member sign the first part of the third section under “Certification by CARFAC”. If you do not know another member of CARFAC, please contact bc@carfac.ca to make alternate arrangements. Please note that this may add to the turnaround time. Digital signatures may be used if you have the appropriate software.
Step 4: When your certificate has been filled in by the applicant and signed by a CARFAC member. Then email artistservices@carfac.ca a copy of the PDF and we will send you a link to make your payment online.
If you require a hard copy of your certificates, please contact CARFAC National here.
Please allow two weeks for the certificates to be processed, plus shipping time for the requested hard copies. If you do not allow two weeks, we cannot guarantee that you will receive your certificates before the artwork leaves.
Rush requests will be considered on an individual basis, and an additional $25.00 rush fee will be applied to orders needed in less than 2 weeks. Additional costs for express postage may also apply and be charged in addition to regular fees.
Cost
Non-members: $30.00 for the first certificate and $5.00 each for additional certificates sent at the same time.
CARFAC Members: $15.00 for the first certificate and $2.00 each for any additional certificates sent at the same time.
Mail To:
CARFAC
2 Daly Ave., Suite 250
Ottawa, ON, K1N 6E2
If you have questions, contact the CARFAC National office here.
International Association of Artist Cards
The International Association of Art (IAA) is a non-governmental organization working in partnership with UNESCO, and they issue identity cards to professional artists. This card allows free or discounted admission to many galleries and museums in countries around the world. The card is a tool for the lifelong education of artists in their professional artistic research.
Some popular locations that offer free entrance with the IAA card:
France: The Louvre, Centre Pompidou, Le Musée d’Orsay, etc
Germany: Brücke Museum, Martin-Gropius-Bau, Käthe Kollwitz Museum Köln, etc
Greece: The Acropolis, Temple of Olympian Zeus, etc
Details on other museums that accept the card are available upon request.
IAA cards are available to CARFAC, RAAV, and CMAQ members ONLY, at the rate of $10.00.
To request an IAA Card, please contact artistservices@carfac.ca