Beyond Rights Acquisition: Are you maximising your revenues?

Sarah Faulder, PLS Chief Executive, moderated a plenary panel at the ALPSP Conference and Awards in September.

Starting from the observation that not all publishers are deriving maximum financial benefit from their rights, a panel of rights experts discussed a range of often under-utilised opportunities including those made possible through digitisation.

Support the campaign to axe VAT on digital publications

PLS is lending its support to the joint PPA/PA campaign to remove the 20% VAT rate on digital publications ahead of the budget and urges you to do so too.

The campaign, based on independent research undertaken by Frontier Economics, calls on the Chancellor to cut VAT which "costs £210 million a year and holds back growth in publishing".

A campaign website and petition have already been set up and you can sign it and let your MP know how they can support it here

Clean sweep for PLS in Stationers’ Innovation Excellence Awards 2017

The Publishers Licensing Society (PLS) was named Innovator of the Year by the Stationers’ Company in their 2017 Innovation Excellence Awards after winning the award for the best Digital Technology Application.

“The judges were very impressed with PLS Permissions since it fills a major gap in the publishing market and represents a clever evolution of rights management into a field suggested by the Hargreaves Report."

CLA’s application for extended collective licensing: update

The Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) has decided, in consultation with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), to withdraw its application to operate an extended collective licensing scheme.

PLS Annual Rights and Licensing Forum 2018

PLS’ 2018 Rights & Licensing Forum on Tuesday 10 July outlined the achievements of PLS and others involved in collective licensing over the last year.

Tom West promoted to Chief Operating Officer

We are delighted to announce that Tom West has been promoted as the first ever Chief Operating Officer at the Publishers Licensing Society. The role has been created as PLS expands its provision of digital services to publishers, most recently the new PLS Permissions offering PLSclear.

Policy update: Extension of PLR to ebook lent remotely by public libraries

Authors receive monies via the Public Lending Right each time their work is lent by a public library. To date this had only been payable on physical book loans and electronic and audio book loans that take place on the library premises. An amendment to the Digital Economy Bill will extend this payment to electronic and audio books lent remotely.

Policy update: The Higher Education and Research Bill

The Higher Education and Research Bill aims to deliver wide-ranging changes to how university education is regulated in England and make it easier for new providers to start up and secure university status.

Policy update: The Digital Single Market/Copyright reform package

The European Commission’s proposals have now transferred to the European Parliament for amendment and approval. Over the past few months several Committees of the European Parliament have been publishing draft opinions on the proposed directive.