CLA Media Consultancy Licence: Essential FAQs

What is the Media Consultancy Licence?

The Media Consultancy Licence (MCL), is required for the external sharing of articles to clients. It is a bolt-on licence to CLA’s Business Licence which allows internal copying and reuse of copyrighted content, but sending copies of published articles or snippet links to clients without an MCL risks copyright infringements. The MCL compliments the Business Licence by enabling external supply, offering your clients the ability to receive a snippet and mitigating the risk of infringements.

Why is the client information requested and how does it align with GDPR compliance and the Media Consultancy Licence T&Cs, with potential consequences for non-compliance?

You are required under the Terms and Conditions of your MCL to declare the names of those client organisations that receive copies of published content. The reason we ask for this is as your clients are receiving CLA licensed content, it is our duty in accordance with the law to ensure that your clients are not themselves at risk of copyright infringement for any further copying, sharing, or digital storing of the licensed cuttings which they receive.

It’s always best to inform your clients that CLA will contact them if they do not already hold a CLA Licence. Providing the contact details of the best placed person to deal with this matter isn’t mandatory but is always advisable to ensure minimal disruption for your client.

Do my clients need a CLA licence?

Your licence with CLA does provide your clients with some permissions, however, these are very narrow and specifically extend only to the cuttings and articles of media coverage which you send. They are not fully covered in this context. Each organisation is responsible for ensuring compliance with copyright law in its own right, and this compliance cannot be put in place through a third party such as your PR agency. The permissions your licence covers are limited and allow one recipient to receive a copy of the clipping with no further permission to share, reuse or copy from. Once your client has a CLA licence in place they will have all the rights that our business licence permits.

Can my clients reuse the clippings we send?

No, not unless they have a CLA licence in place. As detailed within the terms of your agreement with CLA, a single user is permitted to receive each cutting, which can then be opened and viewed once only. A single paper copy may be made at that point if required, however further access of the cutting (either by the same user for a second time, or by another user on a separate basis) or further copying of the cutting (either in print or digital form, or by photocopying the permitted single paper print-out) would require the organisation to obtain a CLA Licence.

Are our clients permitted to send us clippings for reference?

If your clients hold a CLA licence, they can share content with you under the conditions that you are acting as a consultant on their behalf, provided that they have included you within their ‘employee’ figures advised to CLA upon taking up their licence.

Can I cancel my Business Licence once I have my Media Consultancy Licence?

No, the Business Licence is your main Licence and the Media Consultancy Licence is a bolt-on to this for PR companies to allow the sharing of clippings to clients. So you are unable to acquire the Media Consultancy Licence without a Business Licence.

Is sending a snippet link considered copyright infringement?

Sending a web link or URL that is accompanied by the headline or by an extract / the first few lines from the text of the article is considered a copyright infringement and a CLA licence will cover you for this.

Does this licence cover links shared to Social Media?

No, CLA does not cover Social Media sharing.

Can I share the content I receive from a media monitoring organisation (MMO) with my client?

No, similarly to the Media Consultancy Licence, under the agreement your MMO has with CLA, you are only allowed one recipient to receive the content, with one paper copy made with no further distribution internally or externally. For this, you would need a CLA Business licence and a Media Consultancy Licence to send to your clients.

What is the cost of the Media Consultancy Licence?

The cost is determined based on the maximum number of Licensed Cuttings to be supplied per annum. You can see the licence documents here.

Licence enquiries

If you’d like to enquire about a new licence, you can use the form via the form below. Alternatively, you can contact our team on 0204 5120096 or licence@cla.co.uk

Enter your details below and one of our team will get back to you.

If you have further questions or require additional information on our Media Consultancy Licence, our team are here to help. Existing licence holders can contact our Customer Success team on 020 7400 3171 or cs@cla.co.uk

Whether you’re seeking clarification on licence use or want to discuss licence options, we look forward to hearing from you.

Navigating your Media Consultancy Licence: Essential FAQs answered