PLS Conference 2024 Line Up Announced

We are delighted to reveal the PLS Conference 2024 line up, join us for another thought-provoking all-day conference on July 4th.

Click to register for free.

Publishers’ Licensing Services (PLS) has confirmed the full line up for this year’s PLS Conference, a day-long free event that will take place on 4 July at 1 Wimpole Street, London. Providing this year’s keynote speech will be Richard Charkin, former president of the International Publishers Association and the UK Publishers Association, and for eleven years until 2019, executive director of Bloomsbury Publishing. In his speech that will close the Conference, Richard will reflect on his experience in publishing and will trace the major changes the industry has had to adapt to over the last fifty years, whilst also commenting on some of the challenges publishers face today and how they can be overcome. Also, in a change from last year’s PLS conference, the four major UK publishing trade associations who own and direct PLS will be providing sessions on various topics, including artificial intelligence, the UK specialist media sector, and copyright enforcement.

The morning conference sessions will have separate expert introductions and practical advice on collective licensing, rights management, and permissions – all key aspects of PLS' work. Meanwhile, in parallel sessions, PLS’ licensing partners will give important updates on their work: the Copyright Licensing Agency, represented by their Head of Rightsholder Relations, James Bennett, will provide updates on their licensing of the education, corporate, and public sectors, while Matt Aspinall, Head of Commercial Services at NLA media access, will give attendees an insight into their enforcement work in the news media sector. During the day, there will also be an event to mark the 10th anniversary of Access to Research, PLS’ service that provides public library users across the UK with free access to authoritative, reliable, and curated content from some of the UK’s leading academic publishers.

In the afternoon, PLS’ trade association members will host separate sessions. The Independent Publishers Guild (IPG) will provide a topical overview of how independent publishers can harness AI, while Sajeeda Merali, Chief Executive of the Professional Publishers Association (PPA) will be taking an in depth look at the specialist media sector and sharing headline findings from their recent market sector insight report.

The Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP), represented by Leslie Lansman, Chair of the ALPSP Policy Panel, who will lead a panel on global copyright issues in AI and publishing, whilst the Publishers Association (PA) will provide a parallel session on the vital topic of content protection and enforcement.

As with last year’s conference, the rest of the afternoon will be made up of panel sessions. James Bennett, from the CLA, will chair a panel discussing the benefits and practicalities of direct and collective licensing of AI. PLS’ Head of Rights and Licensing, Amy Ellis, will lead a panel of rights experts to discuss the future of selling rights. The penultimate session will be chaired by PLS’ Head of Policy and Communications, Will Crook, who will be joined by policy professionals from the Publishers Association, the Professional Publishers Association, and the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS), to look at what the upcoming general election and potential change in government may mean to copyright and its relationship with AI, and what the publishing industry and wider creative industries would like the next government to focus on.

PLS Chair, Rosie Glazebrook, said:
I was delighted that last year’s inaugural PLS Conference was such a success and was both well-received and well attended.

PLS sits at the centre of the publishing industry, with strong links to trade, academic, magazine and website publishing. With PLS located in such unique spot within the industry, and with our wealth of experience, we are in an excellent position to not only provide expert insight on rights and licensing, but also bring the industry together to discuss important developments, such as the rise of artificial intelligence, and help share knowledge and build connections more broadly.

I look forward to what looks to be another interesting and thought-provoking PLS Conference, building upon last year’s success.

PLS CEO, Tom West, said:
We're really excited to be hosting our second all-day conference. We believe that this event, with its focus on rights, licensing, and the value of collective action – more relevant than ever with the challenges faced by publishers, from AI to online piracy and beyond – will become an established fixture in the publishing calendar, providing a unique forum to inform, educate, and share thoughts and ideas on these important topics. I would therefore like to extend an industry-wide invitation to join us in London on July 4th.

Conference keynote speaker, Richard Charkin, said:
I feel genuinely honoured to be invited to give a keynote address at this year’s PLS Conference. PLS is not only a huge contributor to the financial prosperity of publishing, but its very existence helps protect copyright, the lifeblood of our industry.

You can register here for free.

Please note there will be a photographer in attendance and photographs taken at the event may be used on PLS' social media channels, website and/or in print. Please contact us if you would prefer not to be photographed: comms@pls.org.uk.