Rules & Resources
Bylaws & Rules

Article 3 - Dues and Service

3.1 Dues Obligation

Members of each class shall pay dues computed on an annual basis as well as the cost of the services each member receives on the basis hereinafter specified in this Article.

3.2 Dues by Classification

(a) Dues for each class of members shall be set by the Board of Directors, subject to the following provisions:

(1) Advertisers
Separate annual dues may be set for National and Regional Advertiser members.

(2) Advertising Agencies
Annual dues for Advertising Agency members, including media buying services, shall be based either on the total print media billings during the preceding calendar year, or an estimate of total print media billings in the year to which dues billings apply, at the option of the member.

(3) Publishers
Annual dues for publishers shall be payable quarterly in advance, with the exception of dues of newspapers audited every other year, in which case the dues shall be payable semi-annually in advance, based on total distribution as shown in the latest released regular Publisher's Statement.

(4) Newspapers Audited Every Other Year
The yearly dues of newspapers audited every other year shall be one-half of the yearly dues for newspapers audited every year.

(5) Weekly Newspaper Group Audit Plan
The yearly dues of urban weekly newspaper members of a group audit plan shall be one-half of the yearly dues for weekly newspapers audited every year. Yearly dues of nonurban newspaper members of a group audit plan shall be one-quarter of the yearly dues for weekly newspapers audited every year.

(6) Associate Members
The annual dues of Associate Members may be set at different amounts, depending upon the nature of the activities of such members.

(b) A schedule of dues shall be on file at the offices of the Audit Bureau.

3.3 Report Service and Audit Costs

(a) Standard Report Service. Members shall receive reports and services, as follows:

(1) Advertiser, Advertising Agency and Associate Members shall be entitled to receive service in accord with the schedule on file at the office of the Bureau.

(2) Publisher Members shall receive report service provided for in B 4.10 of the rules.

(3) Newspaper Supplements.
Publications qualifying for associate membership as newspaper supplements shall receive semi-annual Newspaper Supplement Statements which shall report only a summary of the average total paid circulation and the average unpaid distribution of member newspapers of the Bureau with which the supplement is distributed and as reported in the distributing newspapers' Publisher's Statements. The records of newspaper supplement associate members shall be subject to audit at any time and to the extent determined necessary by the Bureau's management or the Board of Directors.

(4) Consolidated Newspaper Groups for which consolidated newspaper statements are issued under C 6.2, shall receive the same service as that of publisher members under B 4.10.

(b) Additional Report Services. In addition to the annual dues paid, each member of the Bureau may purchase reports and services at rates that may be established by the Bureau from time to time.

A schedule of the cost of reports and services shall be on file at the office of the Bureau.

(c) Audits. In addition to annual dues, each publisher member shall pay the cost of the audit and such other costs as may be required by the rules and standards of the Bureau. The hourly rates to be used in computing the costs of audits to publishers shall be established by the Bureau from time to time.

An amount comparable to the cost of the last audit, based on the hourly field and house auditing rates in effect at the time of billing, shall be payable in advance, this amount to be applied against the cost of the next audit. For purposes of this payment, all publication members other than weekly newspapers audited every other year and weekly newspapers participating in a group audit plan shall be billed quarterly for advance audit cost deposits. Weekly newspapers audited every other year shall be billed semi-annually for advance audit cost deposits.

Individual newspaper members of weekly newspaper group audit plans shall be billed semi-annually for advance audit cost deposits until they have been billed four times subsequent to the date of the most recently released audit. Such billings will be discontinued until the release of their next audit. Any difference between the amount paid and the actual cost of the audit will be adjusted after the audit is released and whenever a final audit is made following a resignation under Bylaws Article 9. Any direct auditing cost paid by the resigning member but not actually incurred in such final audit will be refunded to such resigning member, provided all other charges and dues have been paid to the Bureau.

3.4 International Publications

Publications outside the United States and Canada shall pay the extra cost involved over the amount of dues applicable to auditing service, prorated among the publications in the respective localities.

3.5 Publications Indebted to ABC

No Publisher's Statement shall be released or audit made of a publication delinquent in dues or otherwise indebted to the Bureau.

3.6 Adjustment of Dues

When, in the judgment of the Board of Directors, the regular dues from the members for any fiscal period are in excess of, or less than, the amount necessary for the operation of the Bureau, exclusive of the cost of services and audits, the Board of Directors may, for the succeeding fiscal period, revise the schedule of dues to meet more nearly the actual cost of the operation of the Bureau, taking into account the excess or deficiency, as the case may be, of dues previously paid.

3.7 Ownership of Copyright and Indemnification

(a) The members agree that title to all data which the members supply to the Audit Bureau of Circulations is assigned to and becomes the property of ABC. The Bureau shall obtain and retain ownership of its copyright and its copyrighted materials in whatever form disseminated, or from whatever source the copyrighted data was originally acquired.

(b) Any member furnishing circulation and other data to ABC, as is periodically required under the terms of being a member, or, to the Bureau's Data Bank, or any member being furnished, supplied or sold, with or without compensation, any data from the Bureau's Data Bank, is subject to the following provisions:

(1) ABC obtains legal title to all data supplied by members by an automatic assignment of title to the data from each member to ABC. ABC shall retain legal title to all data furnished to members.

(2) Members are granted the non-exclusive legal right to use any data or other publication protected or owned by ABC only in accordance with the terms set forth specifically in the Publicity Rules and only in accordance with all other bylaws, rules and policies. ABC shall retain the exclusive copyright to such data. The Publisher's Statements, Audit Reports and any report furnished to a member or members that is published by ABC incorporating data from any source shall bear at least the first sentence of the following inscription:

Copyright, Year (of publication) Audit Bureau of Circulations. All rights reserved. No part of this report, whether in written form or on magnetic tape or transmitted electronically, may be reproduced, used or transmitted in any form or by any means, without express written permission of the publisher, Audit Bureau of Circulations, 900 North Meacham Road, Schaumburg, Illinois 60173-4968.

(3) Members either supplying or receiving data agree to indemnify ABC against all loss, liability, damage and expense arising out of any claim of inaccuracy or error in such information, including but not limited to a claim by any other member reported in any form or by any other user of data from the ABC Data Bank.

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