American Society for Collective Rights Licensing

Who We Are

ASCRL, The American Society for Collective Rights Licensing, Inc., is a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit collective management organization (CMO) for visual art authors and rights owners. We collect royalties and distribute them to our members based upon representation agreements that we have with other collecting societies around the world. Our intention is to provide you with an ongoing revenue stream from reprographic funds because you are an author or rights owner in visual work.
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ASCRL works to maximize the return to rights holders and minimize collection and distribution expenses. ASCRL is the only author and rights holder created CMO that is a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit organization in the U.S. We are on your side working to help you sustain your businesses and improve your livelihood at no cost to you. Learn more
Leadership

​ASCRL is managed by its board of directors: All directors serve, in their capacity as directors, as volunteers without compensation.  The current board members have extensive experience and knowledge in the area of collective rights management both here in the United States and around the world. James Silverberg serves as ASCRL's Chief Executive Officer.
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Michael Grecco

Director

Michael Grecco is a multiple award-winning industry leader best known for his iconic celebrity portraits and visionary magazine covers, editorials, and advertising spreads for NBS/Universal, GE, Pfizer, HBO, Kodak, ABC, IBM, Yahoo!, ESPN, Wired, Time, Entertainment Weekly, Esquire, Premier, MAXIM and more. His distinguished work is regularly featured in prestigious galleries such as: Louis Stern, G. Ray Hawkins, Stephen Cohen and Fahey Klein.

James Lorin Silverberg, Esq.

Chief Executive Officer

James Lorin Silverberg has a long and distinguished record as an advocate for illustrators and photographers.  As the Director of Litigation for The Intellectual Property Group, PC, he has litigated cases representing authors throughout the United States.  He has acted as Legal Counsel for The American Center for Design, the Graphic Design Education Association, and the Shoshin Illustrator Society. He is founding counsel for the American Institute of Graphic Artists (AIGA/Washington), and the American Institute of Graphic Artists (AIGA/MD). Silverberg has also acted as counsel for American Photographic Artists (APA) and The White House News Photographer's Association (WHNPA). He is a member of the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States, and the federal bars of 14 federal courts around the country.  He is a member of the Art Law Committee of the DC Bar and New York bar.  He is formerly a Professor of Law at the Washington College of Law where he taught Art and Entertainment Law,  and an Adjunct Faculty at the Virginia Commonwealth University, Dept. of Communications, Art, and Design, where he taught Studio Management, and has been a lecturer at the George Washington University and Corcoran School of the Arts where he taught Art, Business, and the Law. He is a passionate supporter of artists’ rights, earning him a high level of respect from artists’ organizations, publishers, industry partners, lawmakers and government agencies in the US and globally. He has won awards for his service to the arts community, including an award from Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts.  Silverberg attended The National Law Center, The George Washington, University, and the State University of New York College at Purchase, where he majored in Critical Theory of Art.

Director

John Simson, Esq.

Director

 John Simson, Esq., served as the Executive Director of SoundExchange from 2001-2010, an organization he helped launch in 2001. SoundExchange collects royalties from internet and satellite radio services on behalf of recording artists and record labels. The organization is now responsible for distributions greater than Two Billion
Dollars since inception.                                              

Advisory Board

​ASCRL has a distinguished Advisory Board composed of industry and trade group representatives, leading academic scholars, and licensing experts. ASCRL works closely with the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organizations (IFRRO). 

ASCRL Advisory Board:

David Goldamn, David Goldman Agency
​Whitney Sherman, MICA, Director, MFA in Illustration Practice, Co-Director, Dolphin Press & Print
Taina Litwak, Litwak Illustration Studio
Jim Griffin, OneHouse
John Harrington, White House News Photographers Association
Ramon Purcell, American Photographic Artists
David Trust, Professional Photographers Of America
Bob Mason, Society of Animal Artists 
Bill Rosenblatt, GiantSteps Media Technology Strategies