Welcome to the Canadian Claimants Group website
The Canadian Claimants Group (CCG) is an informal group of broadcasters, producers, distributors and authorized representatives. The CCG claims a share of the cable retransmission royalties paid by American cable systems for the retransmission of distant free-over-the-air Canadian broadcast signals in the United States.
Learn moreOur purpose
The CCG looks out for the interests of copyright owners whose productions were broadcast on the retransmitted Canadian stations. It spearheads the preparation and filing of a joint claim to the U.S. Copyright Office, champions the rights of its members to an equitable share of all royalties paid, and collects and redistributes royalties to eligible members on a non-profit basis.
What we do
We collect
The CCG collects the royalties allocated to our claimant group, pays expenses, and re-distributes royalties to our members.
Learn more about usWe coordinate
The CCG coordinates the filing of claims and participation in legal proceedings.
See more in the FAQ sectionWe communicate
We answer questions about our role, provide information to potential and existing claimants, strive to demystify the process and encourage participation.
See more in the FAQ sectionWhat is the compulsory license and why does it exist?
Let’s go back in time to 1976. The cable networks that will flourish in the future – A&E, Discovery – don’t exist. The cable industry is young and struggling and hungry for programming to push through the pipeline to their subscribers. Technology gives systems the ability to snatch distant signals from the air but how do they get permission to do so?