Publishers’ Licensing Services announces details of inaugural conference

Publishers’ Licensing Services (PLS) has announced details of its first ever full-day conference.

The conference, aimed at publishers and free to attend, will be held on Wednesday 5th July 2023 at 1 Wimpole Street, London. The day will feature speakers from across the publishing industry and will provide opportunities for attendees to meet exhibitors and to network, as well as to ask questions of the PLS team.

The conference programme will tackle topics including rights and licensing, progress towards sustainability, the impact of AI and the latest policy and legislative developments. Workshops will cover the basics of collective licensing, effective rights management and streamlining permissions, as well as updates on education, business and international licensing provided by PLS licensing partners, the Copyright Licensing Agency and NLA Media Access.

A discussion on current industry issues will be hosted by PLS chief executive, Sarah Faulder, together with the four chief executives of the publishing trade associations that own PLS: Wayne Sime of the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP), Bridget Shine of the Independent Publishers Guild (IPG), Dan Conway of the Publishers Association (PA) and Sajeeda Merali of the Professional Publishers Association (PPA).

The conference will also feature Dan Guthrie from the Alliance for Intellectual Property and Saskia Perriard-Abdoh from the British Copyright Council in discussion with PLS policy and communications manager, Will Crook, who will provide updates on the latest Westminster developments. Helen Griggs of Cambridge University Press and Stuart Debar of SRL Publishing will be part of a panel discussing sustainability moderated by PLS chair, Rosie Glazebrook, and finally members of PLS’s industry Rights Group will be addressing the latest developments in rights management and what publishers need to know.

The conference will close with a to-be-announced keynote speaker, who organisers say “will provide a highly topical talk on the latest developments in AI and what this means for publishers".

Faulder said: “Our first-ever PLS Conference will bring together publishers and industry experts to focus on current issues and the latest developments affecting the world of rights and licensing in publishing. Our conference offers an opportunity for publishers to brush up their knowledge and get up to date on the important issue of managing their valuable rights.” More information can be found here.