Do you know your place in the copyright landscape?
When I’ve mentioned the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) to teachers I’ve met, writes Alexandra Reed, Senior Digital Marketing Executive at CLA, they tend to have one of two reactions.
They’re either nervous, fearing that CLA are the copyright police who are about to reprimand them for wrongful copying, or, they withdraw immediately, believing that copyright is a complicated legal doctrine that they simply don’t have time to manage on top of all their teaching responsibilities. There is more of a need than ever for teachers to understand the balance between the needs of teachers as users of content, but also the needs of the creators. And that’s where CLA is here to help.
Who are CLA?
CLA is a not-for-profit licensing body, which means we manage blanket copyright licences that cover all kinds of organisations to make copies from published material. Once CLA’s running costs are deducted, money made from the sale of these licences is paid back to authors, publishers and visual artists as royalties, allowing them to make a living from their work and continue creating the fantastic resources that teachers use in the classroom every day. Without fair payment for the use of their work, it simply wouldn’t be possible for creators to continue producing classroom materials.
What do CLA do?
CLA has made it their mission to make copyright simple and the copyright licence provides an ideal way for schools to easily manage their copyright risk, and here’s something you might be pleasantly surprised to discover. All state maintained schools and academies in the UK hold a CLA Education Licence, provided via central licensing agreements that CLA holds with regional education departments. The licence is also available to purchase for independent schools.
So, you already have a copyright licence, but do you know how to use it? And are you making the most of it?
3 things you need to know
Unfortunately, there isn’t widespread knowledge about CLA and the licence amongst teachers – understandable when one considers how jam-packed teacher training courses and CPD sessions are – but this does mean that teachers aren’t always conscious of their legal obligations or how they can use the licence to make the most of their resources – and reduce that ever growing workload.
Here are 3 simple things you should know:
- You can copy extracts from 1000s of titles covered under your Licence, including books, magazines and certain websites
- The Licence covers you to copy in all kinds of ways, not just photocopying – you can also scan and make digital copies
- Don’t reinvent the wheel when planning – incorporate published materials into your planning – that’s what they’re for!
Re:source blog
CLA are trying to show teachers exactly what they can do with different types of content. Recently, we launched the re:source blog that aims to show teachers how the licence is more than just a means to photocopy, how they can reinvent their teaching materials, discover new types of material for classroom use, and share their best ideas and tips.
You can find out more about CLA on our website.
You can read more articles by Alexandra Reed here.
