Late last month, the Copyright Clearance Center went live on www.copyright.com with a digital licensing service that allows publishers and other rights holders to set their own terms and fees for external uses of copyrighted material on Internet and extranet sites, as well as e-mail, PC-to-PC faxing and PDA transmissions. This new permissions service complements the CCC's repertory digital licensing program, which covers internal use of copyrighted material, including material posted on intranets.
"This is a quick response to what our customers asked for," Tracey Armstrong, CCC v-p of transactional services, told PW. "Over the summer, we did a big study of our publishers, and the number one comment made was that they wanted more digital solutions." According to Armstrong, the advantage of the external licensing service is that it enables publishers and other rights holders to deal with requests to post a single item for one-time use, and is yet another step in streamlining the permissions process.
CCC made getting the new service up and running a priority, and customers have been quick to respond. More than 200 publishers, including Thomson Media, Amacom, Dow Jones, Marcel Dekker and the San Francisco Chronicle, have already signed up to participate. "This service provides the only centralized means for users to license digital use on an as-needed bsis," noted David Dekker, COO of Marcel Dekker. According to Armstrong, orders began coming in the first day the service was available.
