How to republish your media coverage – without breaking the law

Your company has secured media coverage. You may be keen to share on your website and social media, however, the excitement can soon turn to disappointment when you receive a legal note saying that you have breached copyright laws in the process.

Here’s what you need to know before republishing any press coverage received.

Getting permission

The first place to ask for permission should be the publication. The editor or the legal department of the publication may respond in the following ways:

1. They allow you to publish the whole article but only with proper attribution and a link back to the original piece.

This is the best response you can receive, as it allows you to republish the piece for free.

Example: We had republished this article written by a team member originally published on an external website. The end of the article mentions the name of the publication where it was originally published, with a hyperlink to the original piece.

2. They ask that you pay a licensing fee to them.

Some publications have their own republishing licenses that they’d ask you to buy.

For example, Financial Times offers two kinds of licenses depending on whether you need it for a one-off article or repeat republication.

The price of the license depends on the number of content pieces, type of content piece and the format in which it is republished.

3. They ask you to reach out to their licensing body – NLA media access, Publishers’ Licensing Services or Copyright Licensing Agency.

The licensing authority will ask you to pay a licensing fee depending on your company turnover and the number of articles you want to republish per year.

For example, NLA that has the licensing authority for all UK national and regional newspapers with a few notable exceptions, will charge a microbusiness with up to £650k turnover, £123 to republish one article as of 2021.

Price list for NLA’s Corporate Website Republishing Licence (Source)

If you plan to republish a lot of articles often, then going straight to NLA will take away the hassle of contacting each publisher individually.

Conclusion

When deciding to showcase the press coverage received by sharing the article in full on your website, it is always better to err on the side of caution and ask the relevant publisher or licensing authority for permission.

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Curzon PR is a London-based PR firm working with clients globally. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our Business Development Team bd@curzonpr.com