NLA media access partners with CLA to simplify copyright licensing in education.

NLA media access and the Copyright Licensing Agency have this morning issued the following joint announcement.

Commenting on the news, Richard Hooper, author of the Copyright Works  report and Chair of the Copyright Hub said “This is exactly the sort of initiative that Ros Lynch and I were looking for from the education  sector.  It removes another layer of complexity to educational licensing.  Bravo!' 

London, 4 September - NLA media access and the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) announce a partnership designed to streamline and simplify copyright licensing for UK schools and higher education.

NLA media access has appointed CLA as its exclusive agent for all UK education licensing. From 2014, schools, higher and further education establishments will be able to manage their news content copyright licence through CLA. 

This single point of contact and centralised administration is expected to save licensees effort. The partnership will begin with the CLA selling NLA media access licences alongside its own, but both parties will work towards a closer harmonisation of licence terms to make copyright licensing easier for clients in the education sector.   

The agreement will include the transfer to CLA of existing NLA media access licences for higher education institutions from August 2014. Also transferring will be the Newspapers for Schools data service and the implementation of a recent decision by NLA media access to start charges for schools licensing from 2014.

David Pugh, Managing Director NLA media access, said

 “Newspapers are putting users first and trying to simplify copyright administration by giving educational establishments a single point of contact for licensing news and other text. The industry-led Copyright Hub project has underlined the importance of making compliance easy. By working in partnership with CLA we aim to reduce the time and effort spent on paperwork and allow licence users more time to teach. We are delighted that CLA is supporting the Newspaper for Schools service as part of this agreement”.

 CLA Chief Executive Kevin Fitzgerald CMG added

 “This partnership with NLA media access acknowledges CLA’s experience and expertise in licensing the education sector and is the latest in a series of collaborations that will help to streamline the process of copyright licensing. In particular, the arrangement will draw on the advantages of CLA’s well developed networks for licensing higher education to deliver real benefits for users and rights holders alike.”