SCONUL, Jisc Collections and RLUK have contributed information and funding to a new report that shows how universities are using copyright licences to support teaching and learning. 

The research, commissioned by the Universities UK, Guild HE and the HE Copyright Negotiation and Advisory Committee (CNAC), informed licensing negotiations between the UUK on behalf of universities, and the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA). It also brings more clarity around the use of the CLA licences and the terms of the Higher Education Licence.

A comparison of the educational copyright regime in other countries is included in the report, along with a list of the types of material which are scanned under the CLA Licence. The research findings show that the licences are mostly used by university staff making copies of books or text in digital formats to use in teaching and learning.

The report also explores the trends in usage of the licence by institution. Twenty institutions can be considered heavy users of the licence, however, usage of the licence in the HE sector as a whole has plateaued. It appears that the increasing availability of open access materials has, to date, had a minimal impact on how institutions use the CLA Licence.

Research for the report was carried out by Jane Secker, senior lecturer at City University of London, Chris Morrison, copyright and licensing compliance officer at the University of Kent and Elizabeth Gadd, research policy manager (publications) at Loughborough University.

Read a full copy of the report (pdf).