Please note: this is a sponsored post
By Paul Rollins, CLA Marketing Manager
Intellectual Property (IP) and Copyright are now more important than ever to UK businesses, whether large multi-nationals or small digital start-ups. Businesses not only access, use and share other peoples IP in the form of published materials, software, designs and data; but increasingly they generate their own IP whether in traditional or new digital formats.
It is now generally accepted that the creative industries make a valuable contribution to the GDP of the UK economy through innovative products and net export earnings and a recent study by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) and Imperial College, published in their report ‘Updating the Value of UK Copyright Investment’ found that this contribution was worth £5.1billion per year.
The creative industries which include traditional trades such as publishing, regard the UK copyright system as an enabling force in delivering this economic value, with copyright offering a strong incentive that helps reward creators and investors, and supports the production of new work.
Increasingly though, many businesses are coming to realise that they are contributing to the creative economy too, publishing reports, commissioning design and software and developing their own data and digital assets in-house.
Importance of IP assets
Concern about Intellectual property is increasing in the business world and this merely reflects the growing value of knowledge investment in artistic assets protected by copyright. However, for companies and their workers that want to copy and share these works, copyright can sometimes seem like an onerous and complex system.
The most commonly available and easily exploitable assets are written works such as published articles, reports and news stories. In everyday business life, companies and employees that want to scan a journal article, circulate press cuttings or email reports to colleagues, need copyright clearance. However, they are often working within time and financial constraints which do not easily allow room to navigate the ins and outs of copyright or check permissions.
As content becomes even more widely available and the numbers of formats increase, there are more rights and permissions to be obtained which can create a perception that copyright works are still being kept ‘locked-up’ by rights holders. At the same time there is an expectation from users that the use of freely available content should be free, or that permissions should be easily and cheaply obtainable.
A quicker way to check permissions
Now however, workers in organisations that hold a Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) licence are able to benefit from a service that has just been introduced. A new online search tool lets employees quickly find out if their company’s licence permits the copying of any given publication.
Whether the publication is a traditional printed journal, an online magazine or a website; and whether you’d like to photocopy an article for a meeting or upload a report to the company intranet, Title Search delivers permissions quickly.
The Title Search tool simplifies the steps required to search millions of titles, check permissions and provide the answer in clear terms.
Built in indemnity
Using the Title Search also activates the built in indemnity provided by the licence, so that if you do happen to copy a publication that you shouldn’t have but you have checked that it’s not in our published list of exclusions, then CLA will indemnify you against any potential infringement action taken by a copyright owner.
Title search has been developed following feedback received from CLA’s customers during a series of licensing workshops and meetings. Licence holders have long sought such a solution and so we are pleased to be able to announce this enhanced support facility.
Simple to use
To use, customers simply select their licence type from a short menu (i.e. Business or Education); the type of copying they wish to perform (i.e. Photocopying or Digital); before searching by title and/or ISBN to generate a list of permissions granted by the licence. Try the ‘Title Search’ on the CLA website.
Also available as a mobile app
In addition to the website there is also a CLA Title Search app available. Using the mobile version makes checking permissions even simpler as searches can be made by scanning the barcode of the title you’d like to copy, which sends the results direct to your iPhone or Android device. Just search for CLA Title Search on your app store and download free.
• If your company hasn’t got a CLA licence they can find out more by visiting www.cla.co.uk or by emailing or by calling free on 0800 085 6644.
• Try the Title Search at www.cla.co.uk/licences/titlesearch/
• The Title Search app is free to download from the Apple App Store and Google play.
CLA license organisations to copy and re-use extracts from print and digital publications on behalf of the copyright owners – authors, publishers and visual artists.
CLA was set up in 1983 and is owned by the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society Ltd. (ALCS) and the Publishers’ Licensing Society Ltd. (PLS) to perform collective licensing on their behalf.We also have an agency agreement with the Design and Artists Copyright Society Ltd.(DACS) that enables us to license the copying of artistic works on their behalf.
Please note: this is a sponsored post