How can publishers benefit from collective licensing? Advertisement feature
Te Publishers Licensing Society (PLS) and Te Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) work to ensure that publishers are fairly rewarded for the copying of their work. Publishers can register with the Publishers Licensing Society (PLS) to be eligible to receive revenue from the collective licences issued by CLA for the copying of content by licensed organisations.
Antonella Pearce (A.Pearce@pls.org.uk) is Publisher Relations Manager at PLS and is the key point of contact for publishers in relation to mandates, new licensing and rights management developments.
As Publisher Relations Manager at PLS, what are your key responsibilities and priorities? Since taking on my new role in May this year, I’ve been busy meeting with publishers to promote a better understanding of the benefits of collective management of rights and I have been encouraging them to take advantage of new licensing opportunities.
Why opt into digital licences? Tey are a logical extension of existing copying and scanning licences, adapted to meet the needs of licensees in the digital environment.
How can publishers keep track of their licensing income? PLSe – our free online account management service – makes it easy for mandating publishers to keep track of their licence fee income.
How do you ensure publishers concerns are represented? An important part of my job is understanding publishers’ needs. PLS is owned by the publishing industry and represents publishers in the UK collective licensing system. It is therefore crucial that as many publishers as possible take part in consultations so that we ensure that any new CLA licence takes into account their needs and concerns.
James Bennett (James.Bennett@cla.co.uk) is Licence Development Manager at CLA and works with PLS to inform and educate publishers about collective licensing, including CLA’s opt-in licences for copying of digital content.
In a fast-changing digital world, how do you ensure that CLA licences stay relevant? It’s important for me to keep abreast of new developments in copyright licensing, content publishing and legal issues and balance these with author and publisher concerns. Tis allows me to research and develop new initiatives to ensure CLA licences remain relevant to licensees, while delivering maximum value to rightsholders.
What steps is CLA taking to encourage compliance with its licence terms? Te new CLA title search (cla.co.uk/titlesearch) allows licensees to find out quickly whether they can copy from a title. We will also soon be launching a new title search app, that enables licensees to scan ISN codes with their smartphones, making complying with the terms of their licence even simpler.
What challenges does CLA face in the next 12 months? Tere are challenges from users who question the blanket licensing model and its relevance in the age of digital subscriptions and free-to-view web content. It’s important that we communicate that CLA licences include digital repertoire and that many publishers are opted in and the number is growing.
To find out how you can benefit from collective licensing, or if you would like a demonstration of PLSe, please e-mail Antonella or James or visit the PLS/CLA stand (Hall 8, Stand No. P937).