Who we are CLA is the Copyright Licensing Agency Limited and we are a licensing body as defined by the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988. CLA was set up in 1983 and is owned by the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society Ltd. (ALCS) www.alcs.co.uk/ and the Publishers' Licensing Society Ltd. (PLS) www.pls.org.uk to perform collective licensing on their behalf. We are a leading member of the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations (IFRRO) www.ifrro.org/. What we do We license organisations for copying extracts from print and digital publications on behalf of authors, publishers and visual creators. By copying we mean photocopying, scanning and re-use of content from magazines, books, journals, electronic and online publications, as well as press cuttings or documents supplied by a licensed third party. Our licences provide a cost effective way to manage the risk associated with using and reproducing copyright materials. Who needs a licence? A CLA licence is the only way to get blanket clearance and enables you (within limits) to copy what you want, when you want, rather than having to obtain permission from the copyright owners each time. Our licences permit copying from most titles published in the UK and 30 other international territories. Where does the money go? We undertake surveys and audits of licensed organisations to help us pay the authors, publishers and visual creators whose work is being copied. Benefits of a CLA licence Protecting creativity We aim to obtain fair reward for authors, visual creators and publishers for the copying of their work. By supporting them in this way CLA plays a part in maintaining the value of their work and helps to sustain creativity. This protection has helped the UK's creative industries grow to support millions of jobs and generate 6.4% of UK GVA whilst enriching all our cultural lives. International
We also have an agency agreement with the Design and Artists Copyright Society Ltd.(DACS) www.dacs.org.uk that enables us to license the copying of artistic works on their behalf.
With very few exceptions, any organisation photocopying, scanning or digitally reproducing material from copyright publications is likely to require a licence to ensure legal compliance. Our licences will help to reduce the risk and potential cost of copyright infringement. This requirement applies to any organisations in the business, education, public or charitable sectors.
What can be copied?
We are non profit-making so all the money we collect in licence fees is distributed to the copyright owners after our costs have been deducted.
countries.
CLA's international department works to ensure that the rights mandated to CLA by copyright owners are appropriately licensed, protected and remunerated worldwide. We work to develop better links, standards and systems with other Reproduction Rights Organisations (RROs) to create an international environment where copyright is stronger and creativity is protected.
CLA works closely with IFRRO towards the development of international standards and ways of making the exchange of fees and data more efficient and cost-effective.
Agreements with other countries make more works available for CLA's customers to copy under their licences and also enable UK rights holders to be paid when their works are copied in that country. See the current list of international territories.
Compliance
CLA has a compliance arm, Copywatch (www.copywatch.org), that works to prevent illegal copying.
Copywatch offers rewards of up to £100K for credible evidence of copyright infringement.
CLA is also a member of the Alliance Against IP Theft (www.allianceagainstiptheft.co.uk) and a corporate affiliate member of the Trading Standards Institute (www.tsi.org.uk).
