Blanket Copyright Licences - HE Institutions - Guidance
16 January 2009
Introduction
The JISC Legal team have prepared and published a template providing details on what each of the blanket copyright licences are that an HE institution may hold. It can be accessed here:http://www.jisclegal.ac.uk/publications/blanketlicenceHEtemplate.htm. The template is aimed specifically at HE institutions and offers guidance on some key points to consider in relation to blanket licences. The template is intended to be helpful as well as offering a readily available point of reference, ensuring that you have up-to-date knowledge on the licenses held by your institution.
A licence is a legal document that gives permission to do something. By virtue of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 copyright is transmissible and this permits the formation of licenses granted by copyright owners. Licences may take many forms and the terms are at the discretion of the parties to it depending on their needs. Copyright licences like other forms of contract are generally explicit and generally written.
Benefits of Blanket Licences
Blanket licenses permit the licensee (in this case a HE institution) to use the works covered without infringing copyright provided that the use falls within the scope of the licence. Accordingly, members of staff at HE institutions should appreciate that the licences held by their university provides them with the opportunity to do certain things with copyright works so long as they remain within the scope of the licence terms and conditions. Further, blanket licences issued to institutions make it easy for them to gain permission to reproduce certain material for a single annual payment.
Guidance Note
Please note, that it is perhaps unlikely that every university will hold all of the blanket licences. Therefore, it is the responsibility of each institution to adapt the template to suit their needs, removing any of the licences that it does not have. In order to help you achieve this, we have included a checklist detailing what the blanket licences are that you may hold. It is now simply a box ticking exercise, tick the relevant boxes relating to the licences that are held by your institution and cross-reference the checklist against the template ensuring that you delete the licences from the template that you do not have. Further, you are recommended to fill in the details of your licence co-ordinator at the bottom the template. To enable best use of the template, we suggest that it is posted on the university website, placed in the newsletter or emailed to staff.
If you require further information on whether you hold a particular licence, we suggest that you contact the appropriate licensing agency who should provide you with this information.
The information contained within this document is intended to be an initial point of reference only and is not a comprehensive guide on blanket copyright licences. Therefore, it is up to the individual user to seek other relevant advice as well as relying on this document.
This document does not constitute legal advice.
Checklist
Held by University YES/NO
CLA (Copyright Licensing Agency)
DACS (Design and Artists Copyright Society)
PRS (Performing Rights Society)
MCPS (Mechanical Copyright Protection Society)
ERA (Educational Recording Agency)
ERA Plus (Educational Recording Agency)
PVS (Public Screen Licence)
OUW (Open University Worldwide)
NLA (Newspaper Licensing Agency)
OS (Ordnance Survey)
BSI (British Standards)
OPSI (Office of Public Sector Information)
JISC Collections
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