No matter the type of written work – Danish or foreign, printed or digital – they are all protected by copyright, and in our copying agreements we represent all types of text and sheet music material.
Copydan Writing is a collective management organisation that manages the rights of authors and publishers in connection with copying:
- We were established in 1980 by the rightsholders.
- We are owned by those who write and publish texts and sheet music. Our board consists of 14 Danish publishers’ organisations, writers’ associations, journalists’ associations, illustrators and music organisations.
- We are approved by the Danish Ministry of Culture to enter into copying agreements on behalf of both authors and publishers. Our agreements are based within the legal framework of the Danish Copyright Act.
- Our agreements and licenses cover copying of text material when used by the professional Denmark – we meet the copy needs for schools, educations, churches, choirs, institutions, companies and public events.
- We are non-profit. We distribute the money from the copying agreements to those who have created the writtens works that have been copied. We are thus part of an important cultural circuit that ensures the creation of new texts and sheet music.
- We are one of the leading experts in distributing remuneration individually.
In 2023, 96.7 % of all funds were distributed individually and directly to the rightsholders. The rest was distributed collectively to our member organisations. - In 2024, we will distribute DKK 490.6 million to over 74,000 Danish and foreign rightsholders.
- We are a member of IFRRO and have a strong history of collaborating with international sister organisations, which ensure payment when Danish works are copied and used abroad – and vice versa.
- We enter into partnerships with libraries, publishing houses, institutions etc. that request our help in clearing the rights in large scale digitization projects meant for online platforms.
What to know more…?
Approved by the Danish Ministry of Culture
As the only organisation in Denmark, we have been authorised by the Danish Ministry of Culture to conclude agreements under the extended collective licensing system in the text and sheet music area for both authors and publishers.
The extended collective licensing system is a regulatory way of managing copyrights that ensures flexible access to copying for the users and compensation for the rightsholders for use of their material.
Read the authorisation by the Danish Ministry of Culture here (in Danish)