Copyright Licensing Agency
The Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) is the body that deals specifically with the licensing of certain copyright material in the UK. The CLA was established in 1983 by the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) and the Publishers Licensing Society (PLS, now Publishers' Licensing Services) to perform collective licensing on their behalf. The Copyright Licensing Agency is based in London with an additional office in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The aim of the CLA is to obtain fair rewards for authors, visual artists and publishers for the copying of their work. CLA is a non-profit organisation and money collected in licence fees is distributed to the copyright owners after company costs have been deducted.
The CLA acts on behalf of authors, artists and publishers of books, journals, magazines and periodicals (including digital publications) by issuing licences and ensuring copyright compliance. The CLA issues blanket licences to organisations on an annual basis in return for an annual fee. This permits:
· photocopying or scanning from books, journals or magazines
· copying or printing articles from a website or other digital content
· emailing copies of articles or extracts from publications
· storing copies of articles or extracts on the organisation’s intranet.
The licence avoids the need to request permission each time a reproduction of a copyright work needs to be made. It also includes an indemnity from the CLA for all copying done within the terms of the licence.
The CLA operates three different types of licence aimed at the public sector:
· Public Administration Licence – for local authorities, public bodies, central government departments and agencies (excluding the NHS)
· NHS Licences – for NHS trusts and health authorities
· Library Licence – for walk-in users at public libraries.
The CLA’s compliance arm, Copywatch, has been notably proactive in its pursuit of local authorities that it perceives to be non-compliant.
