On Tuesday this week Richard Hooper and Ros Lynch published their long-anticipated report on the feasibility of a Digital Copyright Exchange. The objectives of the Copyright Works report are supported by the Newspaper Licensing Agency - we agree with Hooper’s emphasis on the need for good metadata standards and ‘interoperability’ of databases to enable simpler licensing that will benefit both publishers and organisations using and sharing content for professional news monitoring.
Since its formation the NLA has been in the business of simplifying access to content and improving data quality for the media monitoring industry. Services provided by the NLA’s e-clips print and web database serving media monitoring companies have delivered efficiencies and improved timeliness and quality of cuttings for Media Monitoring Organisations and their clients.
The obvious next step is to streamline cross border and cross repertoire licensing via a Digital Copyright – and ideally ‘Content’ - Exchange. As a member of the Linked Content Coalition and the Press Database Licensing Network the NLA has already been working with the wider UK and international copyright industry to do just that - and ensure that businesses and consumers can enjoy copyrighted content quickly, simply and legally.
As both Hooper and the Register note, a one size fits all database may seem a nice idea on paper but won’t necessarily work in practice. More likely to succeed are a series of smaller, interoperable hubs - which is exactly what the NLA and Linked Content Coalition is working on.
David Pugh
Managing Director, NLA