Bye-Laws

Sámikopiija is an administrative organisation for Saami rightsholders of intellectual works. These Bye-Laws were adopted at the statutory meeting of representatives on 26 June 1992, and have been amended by the Council of Representatives at meetings on 13 May 1996 and 24 April1998.

MEMBER ORGANISATIONS

CHAP. 1 OBJECTIVES AND TASKS

§ 1.1 Sámikopiija is a professional body for organisations that represent Saami creators of copyrighted works that are subject to reprographic reproduction and other forms of secondary use. As such, Sámikopiija has no economic purpose or goal for itself.

§ 1.2 Within its objectives, Sámikopiija tasks are:

1. To collect information and propose measures that will promote the interests of the rightsholders.
2. To c o-ordinate the claims of member organisations, and to negotiate and contract agreements on their behalf ;
3. To enter into agreements with other RROs to negotiate and conclude agreements, and to claim remuneration on behalf of Sámikopiija when this is expedient;
4. To administer and distribute remuneration and compensation for reprographic reproduction and other forms of secondary use of copyrighted works;
5. To exchange remuneration and compensation with bodies representing non-Saami rightsholders.

The organisation’s tasks also include negotiating and entering into agreements in the following areas:

• Broadcasting of the members’ published works over radio and television, with unmodified transmission of the broadcast to the public. To the extent it is necessary for such transmission, the agreement may also include recording of the broadcast.
• Public and private institutions’ use in their own activities of the members’ published works by presentation of examples through photocopying or equivalent method or transfer to machine-readable form.

The organisation may transfer the right to negotiate and enter into agreements in accordance with the provisions herein to amalgamations of RROs within the field of the copyright if tasks are of equivalent nature.

CHAP. 2 MEMBERSHIP

§ 2.1 Every Saami organisation that is entitled to negotiate and conclude agreements on behalf of its members regarding conditions for copying and other forms of secondary use of the members’ works may apply for membership in Sámikopiija.

Membership applications shall be resolved by the Council of Representatives with a 2/3 majority.

§ 2.2 Termination of membership is subject to no less than six (6) months notice and takes effect from 1 January of the following year. Members who have terminated their membership are not bound by any new agreements that may be entered into by Sámikopiija during the term of notice.

CHAP. 3 ORGANISATION

§ 3.1 The bodies within Sámikopiija are the Council of Representatives (§ 3.2 – 3.8) and the Board of Directors (§ 3.9 – 3.12) .

§ 3.2 Each member organisation shall appoint one (1) representative with a deputy to Sámikopiija’s Council of Representatives. Deputies are entitled to attend meetings, have the right to speak and the power of proposal. The member organisations shall inform Sámikopiija in writing as to the persons who have been appointed as representatives. An appointment is in force until it is withdrawn in writing. A representative of one member organisation may by written authority represent another member organisation.

§ 3.3 The main tasks of the Council of Representatives are as follows:

1. To determine the extent of, and draw up the main guidelines for, Sámikopiija’s activities in accordance with Chapter 1;
2. To control the activities of the Board of Directors;
3. To elect the members of Sámikopiija’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee.

All decisions made pursuant to § 3.3, Paragraph 1, must be passed in the Council of Representatives by a 3/4 majority of those present.

§ 3.4 The Council of Representatives shall meet at least once a year. This meeting shall take place before 31 May and is Sámikopiija’s Annual Meeting. The Annual Meeting shall deal with the following matters:

1. Appointment and election of two (2) persons to sign the minutes for the meeting;
2. Approval of minutes from the previous meeting of the Council of Representatives;
3. The Annual Report of the Board of Director;
4. The audited accounts;
5. Budget for the coming year;
6. Other matters that may be listed in the summons;
7. a) Election of Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the Board of Representatives;
   b) Election of members with personal deputies of Sámikopiija’s Board of Directors;
   c) Election of Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the Board of Directors;
8. New appointment of an auditor and of the Arbitration Tribunal, when necessary.

The Council of Representatives may otherwise be convened at the request of the Board of Directors, the auditor or at least two (2) member organisations.

The Council of Representatives may undertake bye-elections.

§ 3.5 Summons to a meeting of the Council of Representatives shall be given in writing with at least two (2) weeks notice, and shall include an agenda for the meeting. Proposals on matters to be discussed at the Annual Meeting must be submitted to the Board of Directors at least three (3) weeks prior to the Annual Meeting. The members shall be notified in writing no later than one (1) week in advance of the deadline for proposing items for the agenda.

§ 3.6 The meeting shall be chaired by the Chairperson of the Council of Representatives, elected at the previous Annual Meeting. Decisions cannot be made concerning items that are not on the agenda. Unless otherwise provided in these regulations, decisions shall be made by simple majority. The Chairperson shall ensure that minutes of the proceedings are taken.

§ 3.7 The members of the Board of Directors have the right to speak and to put forward proposals in the Council of Representatives. The Executive Director is also entitled to attend meetings and to speak.

§ 3.8 Board Members cannot also sit in the Council of Representatives.

§ 3.9 The Board of Directors consists of five (5) members. Three (3) members comprise the Executive Committee, which are elected at the meeting of the Council of Representatives: Chairperson, Vice Chairperson and one (1) member. Both publishers and authors shall be represented in the Board of Directors. The Board Members shall each have Personal Deputies. The Board of Directors shall protect the interests of all the member organisations. The member organisations cannot bind their Board Members.

§ 3.10 The Board of Directors manages Sámikopiija’s activities. The Chairperson of the Board of Directors or two (2) Board Members jointly, may sign for Sámikopiija.

Meetings of the Board of Directors are summoned by the Chairperson with at least seven (7) days notice. Meetings of the Board of Directors may be summoned upon request by one member.

§ 3.11 Each member of the Board of Directors has one (1) vote. The Board of Directors is considered to have a quorum when there are at least three (3) members (or deputies) present, including the Chairperson or Vice Chairperson.

All decisions shall be made by simple majority. Minutes shall be kept of the proceedings of the Board of Directors. The minutes shall be sent to the Council of Representatives concurrently.

§ 3.12 The Board of Directors organises Sámikopiija’s administration and determines the extent of its powers and authority.

The Board of Directors may enter into agreements wherein its administration, or parts of its administration, are attended to by another administrative organisation.

CHAP. 4 ADMINISTRATION, DISTRIBUTION AND ALLOCATION OF FUNDS

§ 4.1 All remuneration shall be paid by the user or collecting agency directly into Sámikopiija’s bank account.

By budget resolution, the Council of Representatives shall set aside a certain amount of received funds for Sámikopiija’s administration.

The Board of Directors shall set aside prospective funds with a view to non-Saami rightsholders.

Remuneration shall be distributed accordingly between the member organisations as soon as possible.

Remuneration that cannot be distributed immediately may be placed in special bank accounts or papers guaranteed by banks or insurance companies with a reasonable payment of interest on the funds. Funds should not be placed with a lock-in period exceeding six (6) months.

§ 4.3 Remuneration may be distributed either according to a final or an on-account distribution. Agreements on distribution entered into between member organisations regarding distribution of funds shall be sent to Sámikopiija as soon as possible. Remuneration that is to be distributed shall be paid to the organisations that lay claim thereto, to the extent they agree as to the distribution thereof.

Remuneration for photocopying shall normally be distributed on the basis of available statistics for copying of types of works and publications (sources). To the greatest extent possible, distribution formulas agreed between Norwegian rightsholder groups shall be used as a basis.

In the event of disagreement, the Board of Directors or mediators appointed by the Board of Directors shall mediate. If agreement is not achieved within a deadline set by the Board of Directors, the Board of Directors shall render a decision regarding distribution. When the dispute concerns a final distribution of funds, the parties may thereafter refer the matter to arbitration (Chapter 5).

Disbursement shall take place as soon as possible and in accordance with the decision of the Board of Directors. When the decision concerns a final distribution, disbursement shall not take place before it is established that the matter case will not be referred to arbitration. In cases of on-account distribution, reservations shall be made regarding repayment at the subsequent final distribution. The Board of Directors shall decide whether and to what extent the organisation shall furnish security for the sums that are paid on account.

§ 4.4 In cases where member organisations disagree on the distribution, an organisation may allow its case to be brought before the Board of Directors through an agent.

§ 4.5 Payments to a member organisation are made on the premise that claims from unorganised rightsholders within the field shall be met by the organisation concerned. To the extent that Sámikopiija is held liable towards such rightsholders, sums shall be reclaimed from the organisation. The Board of Directors shall give the member organisations general guidance regarding how consideration to unorganised rightsholders may be protected in the administration of the remuneration funds.

CHAP. 5 ARBITRATION

§ 5.1 Sámikopiija’s Council of Representatives shall establish an Arbitration Tribunal consisting of three (3) members who are experts on Copyright Law. One member shall be elected by the member organisations that organise the authors, while the second shall be elected by the publishers’ and editors’ organisations. The third member shall be appointed by the first two members, but in the event of disagreement, by the Chairperson of the Saami Bar Association (Den Samiske Advokatforening).

§ 5.2. The Arbitration Tribunal is the only court of law competent to judge disputes between the organisations and between the latter and Sámikopiija regarding the interpretation of Sámikopiija’s Bye-Laws, and questions of its administrative and distributive character.

Disputes between organisations regarding distribution cannot be brought before the Arbitration Tribunal until they have been dealt with by the Board of Directors (cf. § 4.3 Paragraph 3). A Writ of Summons must be sent to the Chairperson of the Arbitration Tribunal no later than two (2) months after the parties have been informed of the Board of Directors’ decision regarding distribution. After that date, the case shall be dismissed.

To supplement these provisions, the Arbitration Tribunal shall apply the Civil Procedure Act in its work.

CHAP. 6 AMENDMENTS TO THE BYE-LAWS – DISSOLUTION

§ 6.1 Amendments to these Articles of Association may only be adopted by the Council of Representatives by a 3/4 majority of representatives of the member organisations.

§ 6.2 Sámikopiija may be dissolved by the Council of Representatives if a demand to this effect is made by 3/4 of the representatives of the member organisations. At dissolution, a decision shall be made concerning how Sámikopiija’s funds are to be allocated to the benefit of the rightsholders.