Copyright organisations
This page contains some of the main organisations who have an interest in copyright. If you are a creator, copyright owner or a user of copyright protected works, you may find it useful to get in touch.
Collecting societies
ACS – Artists' Collecting Society collects and distributes artist’s resale right (ARR) royalties and copyright.
ALCS – Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society is the British collecting society for all writers.
CCC - Copyright Clearance Center, is a global rights broker for a range of materials, including in- and out-of-print books, journals, newspapers, magazines, movies, television shows, images, blogs and ebooks.
CCLI – Christian Copyright Licensing International provides copyright licences and resources to churches, schools and organisations worldwide.
CLA – Copyright Licensing Agency issues licences for the use of print and digital publications.
DACS – Design and Artists Copyright Society - protects the rights of visual artists and pays them royalties that help sustain their practice and livelihood.
ERA – Educational Recording Agency issues licences to educational establishments to allow them to copy and use radio and TV broadcasts.
MPLC – Motion Picture Licensing Corporation provides an umbrella licence for premises showing films.
NLA media access – licenses the copying and access of newspapers, specialist titles, magazines and websites.
PLS – Publishers Licensing Society oversees the collective licensing scheme in the UK for book, journal and magazine copying, and works.
PPL – Phonographic Performance Limited licenses music for public performance and broadcast and pays royalties to performers and record companies. There is no joining fee.
PRS for Music – A society of songwriters, composers and music publishers that licenses organisations to play, perform or make available copyright music on behalf of their members and overseas societies, and distribute the resulting royalties to them. MCPS is under the PRS for Music umbrella and also represents songwriters, composers and music publishers, but collects royalties on their behalf whenever their music is reproduced for products such as CDs, digital downloads and musical toys.
General copyright contacts
– Intellectual Property Office
Trading Standards Institute
WIPO – World Intellectual Property Organisation
BAPLA - The British Association of Picture Libraries and Agencies (BAPLA) is the trade association for picture libraries in the UK.
Focal International - The Federation of Commercial Audiovisual Libraries is the trade association representing the audiovisual industry.