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PRESS RELEASE
London -12 September, 2012 - London - The PRCA and Meltwater Group's challenge to the NLA’s web licence scheme today moved to the UK Copyright Tribunal.
The NLA introduced its controversial licensing plans early in 2010 to explicitly control links to newspaper articles by media monitoring companies and the PR Industry.
Both Meltwater and the PRCA deem the terms of the proposed license to be unreasonable – in particular that for simply receiving an online media monitoring service and clicking on links to read content in a public, free-to-access website, end users should pay a licence fee to the NLA.
Although disagreeing to it in principle, Meltwater has agreed to take the license required of monitors like itself, on the terms set by the Copyright Tribunal. But we are fighting the payments required by our clients for receiving a search result and for clicking on the link provided. At a time when the economy is already facing strain, these proposed licence fees significantly increase operational costs to many UK businesses.
Meltwater Group, supported by the PRCA, challenged the reasonableness of the NLA licensing schemes being imposed upon its customers, by bringing the case to the attention of the UK Copyright Tribunal.
Although Meltwater Group and the PRCA have stood alone in actively challenging the NLA, any changes to the scheme are likely to benefit not just their customers and members but the industry as a whole.
Following clarification around legal issues to do with the licensing scheme in the Courts, we feel confident that the Copyright Tribunal will rule the NLA licensing scheme is unreasonable. Meltwater and the PRCA will look to reduce the costs of the licence for end-users and challenge terms within the scheme that we believe are not in the best interests of our clients and members respectively.
-ENDS-
Media Contacts
Dan Purvis, Global PR Director, Meltwater
dan.purvis@meltwater.com
+44 (0)20 7183 7826
Richard Ellis, Communications Director, PRCA
pressoffice@prca.org.uk
+44 (0)20 7233 6026
Sean Fleming, Octopus Communications
meltwater@octopuscomms.net
+44 (0)8453 700 655
About the PRCA
Who we are: Founded in 1969, the PRCA is the professional body that represents UK PR consultancies, in-house communications teams and PR freelancers. The PRCA promotes all aspects of public relations and internal communications work, helping teams and individuals maximise the value they deliver to clients and organisations.
What we do: The Association exists to raise standards in PR and communications, providing members with industry data, facilitating the sharing of communications best practice and creating networking opportunities.
How we do it and make a difference: All PRCA members are bound by a professional charter and codes of conduct, and benefit from exceptional training. The Association also works for the greater benefit of the industry, sharing best practice and lobbying on the industry's behalf e.g. fighting the NLA's digital licence.
Who we represent: The PRCA represents many of the major consultancies in the UK, and currently has more than 250 agency members from around the world including the majority of the top 100 UK consultancies. We also represent around 70 in-house communications teams from multinationals, UK charities and leading UK public sector organisations.
About The Meltwater Group
The Meltwater Group is a privately held software company founded in Norway in 2001, serving more than 18,000 clients through 57 offices located across North America, South America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia. Meltwater is committed to challenging existing business models by introducing disruptive technologies. The Meltwater Group delivers B2B solutions based on search engine technology, cloud computing and talent management software. For more information, please visit http://www.meltwater.com.
