Copyright licences

The University has the following collective copyright licences:

  • Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA)
  • Newspaper Licensing Agency (NLA)
  • Educational Recording Agency (ERA)
  • Printed Music Licensing Ltd (PMLL) HE Printed Music Licence

These licences allow authorised users to make limited copies of entire classes of copyright work.

If you have any questions about the use of any of these licences or how they relate to copyright law please contact the copyright team at the Bodleian Libraries: copyright@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

The Copyright Licensing Agency Licence

CLA Licence for the University of Oxford

Watch a recording of the briefing on the CLA licence from Chris Morrison, Copyright & Licensing Specialist

The University holds a licence with the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) which, within specified limits, permits the copying and sharing of extracts from books, journals and similar publications. We are allowed to copy and share the following from qualifying publications:

  • one whole chapter from a book;
  • two whole articles from a journal issue – or, where the issue (or a substantial part of it) is devoted to a particular theme, and the journal is not a CCC Electronic Rights-Work, any number of articles devoted to that particular theme;
  • one short story, poem or play (not exceeding 10 pages in length) from an anthology;
  • one whole scene from a play;
  • one whole paper from a set of conference proceedings;
  • one whole report of a single case from a volume of judicial proceedings; or
  • 10% of the total publication, whichever is the greater.

It is important that you protect yourself, your department, and the University from copyright infringement liability. The following download guides provide a summary of tasks and roles:

If at any time you have any queries about the licence and its operation, please contact your college, departmental or library CLA Licence contact in the first instance or email copyright@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

Reporting copies

All digital/scanned copies made for teaching purposes must be reported to the CLA. A report of all scans made between 1 June 2024 and 31 May 2025 should be sent to the University’s Licence Co-ordinator at cla@bodleian.ox.ac.uk by 1 June 2025. If your scans are hosted on ORLO (Oxford Reading Lists Online) there is no need to send a separate submission. ORLO will automatically generate a list that the University's Licence Co-ordinator will edit and send to the CLA.

Please note: from 1 June 2025 onwards all scans made under the CLA licence will need to be reported every year.

CLA resources

Copyright cover sheets

Educational Recording Agency (ERA)

The ERA licence allows non-profit making educational establishments to record copyrighted protected material produced by its members. A licence is needed to use recordings of programmes as educational resources.

The ERA licence covers all free-to-air (i.e. not encoded or pay-per-view) broadcasts on BBC television and radio, ITV Network services, Channel Four and E4, Five television and S4C. Broadcasts over the internet which are offered at fixed times can also be recorded under the scheme.

The ERA licence underpins the legal access to the Box of Broadcasts service, which provides online access to a vast array of broadcast content.

Additional copies can be made for educational use. The ERA licence does not cover the copying of pre-recorded videos, audio tapes, DVDs or CDs.

All recordings made under the licence must be properly labelled. This should include the date (when the recording was made), the name of the broadcaster, the programme title and the wording 'This recording is to be used only for educational and non-commercial purposes under the terms of the ERA Licence'.

Oxford University’s licence number is D225.

Further information can be found on ERA’s website.

NLA Media Access (Newspaper Licensing Agency)

The NLA licence allows copyright from selected newspapers and news services for both teaching and media monitoring purposes.

Further information can be found on the CLA’s website and the dedicated Copyright Literacy at Oxford page on the NLA Media Access Licence.

Printed Music Licensing Ltd (PMLL) HE Licence

From 2024/25 the University holds a licence with Printed Music Licensing Ltd. that allows music students to make copies and arrangements of printed music for study and research purposes. Further details of the licence are covered by the user guidelines on PMLL’s website.

Please note this licence does not allow the copying of scores for the purpose of public performances at Oxford (e.g. orchestras or choral societies).

Contact copyright@bodleian.ox.ac.uk if you have any questions about the PMLL licence or the copying and communication of printed music.

Related links