The PLS Conference 2024: from protecting IP to generative AI in publishing
On 4th July 2024, over 200 delegates from across the publishing industry gathered in London for the annual Publishers’ Licensing Services (PLS) conference.
The conference was comprised of fifteen sessions, covering a diverse array of subjects such as generative AI, sustainability, and copyright law. The conference’s exhibitors included: Book Industry Communication (BIC); Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA); EDItEUR; Independent Publishers Guild (IPG); NLA Media Access; Publishers Association (PA); Professional Publishers Association (PPA); RightsZone; Society of Young Publishers (SYP) and finally Access to Research, our library service which celebrated its 10 year anniversary in 2024.
Rosie Glazebrook, PLS Chair, and Tom West, Chief Executive, opened the conference with a brief overview of the work undertaken by PLS in the last year, including its record distribution of over £43.8million to publishers.
The morning sessions began with two series of concurrent workshops hosted by PLS, CLA, NLA, and RightsZone. In one auditorium, Tom West and Amy Byrne, PLS Publisher Relations Executive, presented an introduction to the purpose and history of PLS and collective licensing. Next, Amy Ellis, Head of Rights and Licensing at PLS, gave a practical workshop on how publishers can make their permissions process more efficient and, thus, more profitable. Clare Hodder, Rights Consultant and Director of RightsZone, then spoke on how publishers can make the most of their rights, recommending that they prioritise building meaningful and long-lasting relationships over squeezing every penny of profit.
Meanwhile, James Bennett, Head of Rightsholder Relations at the CLA, provided an overview of licensing and technology solutions for the education, corporate, and public sectors, including revenue updates and new initiatives. Matt Aspinall, Head of Commercial Services at NLA, then spoke on IP crime in the news industry, detailing how NLA track and remove publishers’ stolen content.
At lunchtime, Will Dady of Renard Press, winner of the HP Sustainability Award at the IPG’s 2024 Independent Publishing Awards, gave a talk on sustainability. Dady shared the journey of Renard Press towards carbon-positive status, offering valuable insight into how publishers can reduce their environmental impact. Drawing from his own experiences, he emphasised the importance of learning as you go on the journey to sustainability.
The UK’s main four publishing trade associations – ALPSP, IPG, PA, and PPA – presented a variety of sessions after lunch. In the IPG session, Mary Elliott, Managing Partner of Fox Williams, provided an overview of the key legal aspects of AI in publishing, with special emphasis placed on how to balance its potential benefits and risks.
This was followed by a PA panel on content protection and enforcement, which delved into the different strategies publishers can use to disrupt and prevent intellectual property crime. Catriona MacLeod Stevenson, Deputy CEO of PA, chaired the panel, and was joined by Detective Constable Brandon Savage, City of London PIPCU; Rachel Alexander, Partner at Wiggin; Jack Newton, Head of Content Protection and Enforcement at PA; and Pippa Watts, Senior Contracts and Anti-Piracy Manager at Scholastic.
Sajeeda Merali, CEO of PPA, shared the headline findings from PPA’s recent sector insight report, with data collected first-hand from industry CEOs. Merali discussed many factors publishers must consider as they navigate the evolving landscape of publishing, including ED&I, talent, and social media strategies.
Finally, the ALPSP panel explored the intricacies of global copyright in the age of AI, and the policies that may help foster innovation by safeguarding human creativity. The session was chaired by Leslie Lansman, Global Permissions Manager at Springer Nature, who was joined by Mark Walford of STM Legal Forum and Sarah Fricker, Group Head of Legal at IOP Group.
The afternoon sessions continued with three plenary panel sessions exploring a diverse range of topics relevant to the industry. The first panel, chaired by James Bennett, discussed the benefits and practicalities of direct and collective licensing of AI. James was joined by Lee Martin, senior advisor to the image licensing industry; Jessica Rutt, International Rights and Licensing Manager at RCNi; and George Rose, Head of Broadcast and Digital, Commercial Partnerships at PRS for Music. A key takeaway was that the licensing of AI is already taking place in the publishing and visual arts sphere, whilst it is still in its infancy in music, with there being real concerns about the use of AI as a substitute for human creativity.
Amy Ellis chaired the subsequent panel on the future of selling rights. Amy was joined by Margaret Szymczyk, Rights Director at John Murray Press; Briar May, Director of Business Development at Cambridge University Press; and Núria Martí i Pampalona, Senior Rights Manager at Nosy Crow. The panellists discussed various challenges facing rights selling, with a particular focus on how technological innovations can both hinder and elevate the creative industries. They placed emphasis on the vital importance of human relationships to rights selling, with Szymczyk concluding: “the human connection is at the centre of successful rights trading [...] A relationship is difficult to maintain without face-to-face opportunities”.
Lastly, PLS’ annual policy panel reflected on recent events in Westminster and the future of copyright legislation on the day of the General Election. The panel was chaired by Will Crook, Head of Policy and Communications at PLS, alongside Caroline Cummins, Director of Policy & Public Affairs at PA; Luke Alcott, Public Affairs and Policy Manager at Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS); and Stephanie Reeves, Director of Policy and Public Affairs at the British Copyright Council. The panellists agreed that the current UK copyright regime must be upheld, and that any changes to copyright legislation should make it easier for rightsholders to enforce their existing rights.
The conference concluded with Richard Charkin’s keynote speech on resistance to change. Charkin recounted his long and illustrious career in publishing, from landing his first job as a science editor to becoming the president of the International Publishers Association. Charkin cited various moments in his career when publishers have adapted to new situations and technology, such as the emergence of digital publishing and the cross-industry development and implementation of ISBNs and Crossref. He expressed his sincere belief that the industry can overcome its current challenges, concluding: “We can streamline our internal processes which are inordinately complex. We can back the copyright regime through trade association and PLS lobbying of governments and bring along the author and agent community [...] As ever, pragmatism reigns”.
You can view recordings of the afternoon's panels here: