Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) meaning

In practice, the copyright Licensing agency (CLA) provides blanket licences allowing businesses, public bodies, schools, colleges and universities to photocopy, scan and share limited extracts from books, journals, magazines and digital publications, within limits. It is a UK collective management organisation for secondary reprographic and digital copying, operating within the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988; the term is descriptive rather than statutory. CLA is jointly owned by the Authors’ Licensing and collecting society (ALCS) and Publishers’ Licensing Services (PLS). It also licences visual works via mandates from the Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS) and the Picture Industry Collecting Society for Effective Licensing (PICSEL), and distributes royalties to rightsholders. Usage is consistent across England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. In Ireland, the equivalent licensing is typically administered by the Irish Copyright Licensing Agency (ICLA), with coverage managed via reciprocal arrangements. Key features and practice points: repertoire-based coverage with stated exclusions; copying limits (a chapter, an article or a percentage); conditions for secure digital sharing (email, VLE/intranet); and no permission for primary rights such as adaptation, republication or full-copy delivery. A CLA licence is used for compliance and to mitigate infringement risk, but cannot authorise uses beyond its terms.