History

1980
Founding, first copying agreement

Kopifag ("fag" = non-fiction) was founded 30 April 1980 with 7 member organisations:

The Norwegian Specialized Press Association
The Norwegian Publishers' Association
The Norwegian Non-Fiction Writers' Association
Norwegian Union of Journalists
The Association of Norwegian Editors
The Norwegian Magazine Publishers' Association
The Norwegian Newspaper Publishers' Association

Four months later, two new members joined:

The Norwegian Association of Professional Photographers
The Norwegian Graphic Designers

The first agreement for photocopying in schools was made with the Norwegian state as counterpart. A remuneration of more than 10 million Norwegian kroner (for copying before 1980) was immidiately received.

1981
First bilateral agreements

Signing of the first bilateral agreements with Copy-Dan (Denmark) and Kopiosto (Finland). These agreements authorized the organisations to collect remuneration on behalf of the foreign counterpart. The remuneration stayed in the country of accrual (Type B agreement).

1982
Administration

Kopifag established its own administration with a full-time manager. Up to 1982, the administration had been shared with The Norwegian Non-Fiction Writers' Association and with a part-time manager.

1983
New name: Kopinor

From 13 July to 30 September 1984, Kopinor banned all photocopying in the entire Norwegian scool system, following a breakdown of negotiations with the government. The title of this pamphlet (circulation 380 000 to students all over Norway) reads: Now your teacher is not allowed to copy from newspapers, books and journals.

In order to prepare the organisation to represent all rightsholders groups, the Members' Council decided, 17 March 1983, to name the organisation Kopinor.

1984
Conflict: Copying banned

Kopinor and the Norwegian state got into a conflict concerning the scool photocopying agreement. Kopinor banned all copying of copyright protected material in the entire school system from July to September. The conflict recieved a huge media coverage, and resulted in a new agreement. According to the new agreement, the school owners also had to pay a part of the remuneration.

1986
Enlargement and reorganisation

Summer 1986, 13 new organisations of rightsholders joined Kopinor:

Norwegian Authors' Union
The Norwegian Non-Fiction Translators' Association
The Norwegian League of Literary Critics
Norwegian Association of Literary Translators
Norwegian Playwrights' Association
NOPA (Norwegian Composers and Lyricists)
Norwegian Writers for Children and Juveniles
The Norwegian Association of Fine Arts Photographers
Norwegian Society of Composers
The Norwegian Music Publishers' Association
The Association of Norwegian Visual Artists
Norwegian Association of Arts and Crafts
"Ny Musikk" Composers' Group

After this enlargement, all organisations with the right to negotiate with the government in the field of photocopying, were gathered in one single organisation. Following the enlargement from 9 to 22 member organisations, the Executive Board was enlarged to include seven members. A special Distribution Board was set up.

Copying agreements for universities and colleges and the State administration were signed.

1988
First exchange of remuneration abroad

The first bilateral agreement including the exchange of remuneration (Type B agreement) was concluded with Copyright Clearence Center (CCC), USA.

1990
Kopinor 10th anniversary

Throughout the first ten years, the organisation had collected about NOK 320 million in photocopying fees, and it was assumed that 1/3 of Norwegian, institutional photocopying was covered by copying agreements.

Copying agreements for municipal and county authorities were signed.

The merger of The Norwegian Non-Fiction Writers' Association and The Norwegian Non-Fiction Translators' Association brought the number of member organisations down to 21.

1992
First agreements in the private sector

The first copying agreement with The Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO), covering all its member enterprises, was signed. The same year, agreements were signed for banking and financial services and insurance companies.

1993-97
New agreements

Throughout the 1990s, a number of copying agreements in various parts of the private sector were signed.

1998
Copying agreement with the Church of Norway

Following years of negotiations, a copying agreement with the Church of Norway was finally concluded.

2000
Digital copying a new field of operations

After a thorough organisational process, the Members' Council decided to expand Kopinor's field of operations to include the digital field. A central task was to get an extended collective license for the digital field into the Copyright Act.

2003
Kopinor Development Fund

Following a long history of solidarity activities, aimed at rightsholders abroad, Kopinor Development Fund was established as a continuation of the account for undistributable foreign remuneration. The Executive Board also engaged itself in an evaluation of the entire range of international activities.

2005
25 years anniversary

Kopinor's 25 years anniversary was celebrated with an international symposium in Oslo.

The Copyright Act was revised, expanding the scope of the Extended Collective License to new areas, notably digital uses and the use of works in libraries.

2006
Conflict in schools and local government

After negotiations and mediation, Kopinor and The Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS) did not reach a new agreement. Consequently, a ban on copying in schools and municipalities came into effect 1 January. The ban was lifted 7 April, when Kopinor and KS agreed to let the Remuneration Tribunal decide the unresolved matters. A new agreement came into effect the year after.

Yngve Slettholm took over as Executive Director after John-Willy Rudolph.

2007

Norwegian Comedy Writers' Association became a member of Kopinor, bringing the number of member organisations to 22.