What if I disagree with an invoice or amount of money paid?

You may disagree with an invoice you have received from us because an incorrect rate was applied or the amount you received was incorrect. Please contact us at once. We will be happy to check and make sure that everything is correct.

We take questions or complaints seriously. But if we are unable to find a solution together, you can also contact the Copyright Disputes Committee. This is an independent party to help resolve disagreements between CMOs affiliated to BumaStemra and licence fee payers.

Please consider the following points:

1. Before contacting the Copyright Disputes Committee, you must first file a complaint or a request for change through the internal complaints procedure. You have up to three months after the invoice is sent to do so
2. The invoice amount involved must not exceed € 100.000,-
   For higher amounts, you have to go through the court
3. For invoices between € 50.000,- and € 100.000,- you submit the unpaid amount to the Copyright Disputes Committee for safekeeping
4. A fee is charged for filing a complaint. If the committee deem that your claim is successful, you will get the fee back. The higher the value of the invoice, the higher the fee for the complaint. This varies between € 50,- and € 750,-
5. The committee’s assessment will focus on:
   A. the principle that similar cases should be treated alike
   B. the fair market value of the use of the work
   C. The nature and extent of the use
   D. Self-regulatory practice
6. If you disagree with the decision of the Copyright Disputes Committee, then you can go to court with this ruling within three months of the ruling. If you wait longer than three months, the judge will assume that both parties have accepted the ruling

For more information about the Copyright Disputes Committee procedure, go to the Copyright Disputes Committee website.