news & events

ALCS sponsors new educational award for writers

ALCS are pleased to announce that we are sponsoring a new award for educational writing in conjunction with the Society of Authors.


ALCS Responds to Gowers Report

ALCS makes submission to the UKIPO consultation to proposed changes to copyright exceptions.


ALCS AGM 2007

ALCS' AGM is this year being held on 29 November 2007 at the Law Society in Chancery Lane.


ALCS Members win BAFTA Awards

This year’s British Academy and Television Awards were held at the London Palladium on Sunday 20 May 2007.


March 2008 Distribution

Money from the March distribution will reach our Members’ bank accounts by Friday 14th March.


YouTube to pay royalties for music clips

Video-sharing website YouTube has agreed to pay royalties to British songwriters for music used in videos on their website.


THE WRITERS’ GUILD OF AMERICA STRIKE

The Authors' Licensing & Collecting Society wishes to state publicly  its strong support for the current battle being waged by the Writers' Guild of America to ensure respect, recognition and just reward for all writers.

 


 

THE WRITERS’ GUILD OF AMERICA STRIKE
From The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain

The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain supports the Writers’ Guild of America (WGA) in their strike and would strongly advise writers not to strike break.

You like my poems? So pay for them!

Poet Wendy Cope with some answers on a postcard.


 

Michael Rosen is new Children’s Laureate

Author and ALCS Member Michael Rosen has been selected as the fifth Children's Laureate, a position he will hold for the next two years.


ALCS Member wins Nobel Prize for Literature

ALCS and Society of Authors Member, Doris Lessing, has been awarded the 2007 nobel prize for her lifetime’s contribution to literature.

Anne Enright wins Man Booker Prize for Fiction

Irish author Anne Enright has been named as the winner of the Man Booker Prize for fiction for her novel The Gathering.


Penny Grubb is Appointed Chair of ALCS

Writer and lecturer Penny Grubb has been appointed as the new Chair of the Board of Directors at ALCS.


A report of the ALCS AGM 2007

ALCS’ 29th AGM took place last Thursday, the 29th November, at the Law Society in Chancery Lane.


ALCS Board Election Results

ALCS is delighted to announce the results of the recent Independent Director Election held to appoint four new Members of the ALCS Board.


The Writers Guild of America Strike ends

ALCS is pleased to report that the Writers Guild of America Strike was settled on 13 February 2008.

International Day of Solidarity

The Authors’ Licensing & Collecting Society supports the International Day of Solidarity demonstration being organised by the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain in support of the Screenwriters’ Strike. 

WRITERS TO BENEFIT AS ORGANISATIONS AGREE NEW WAY OF WORKING

The Authors’ Licensing & Collecting Society (ALCS), the Society of Authors (SoA) and the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) today announced that they have reached agreement on the future governance of ALCS. 


ALCS Signs Agreement to Administer French PLR

ALCS has signed an agreement with the French not for profit collecting society Société Française des Intérêts des Auteurs de l’Ecrit (SOFIA) to administer the French Public Lending Right (PLR) on behalf of UK writers. 

 

Barrington Stoke encourages struggling readers

An independent Scottish publisher is celebrating 10 successful years of helping dyslexic and reluctant readers to enjoy books.


The Honorary President of ALCS, Maureen Duffy, made a speech at the Fourth Federal Congress on Cultural Policy on 8 June 2007.

The Congress on Cultural Policy was held at the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung building in Berlin.


Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wins Orange Prize

The £30,000 Orange broadband prize has been won by Nigerian-born Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for her novel Half of a Yellow Sun.


YouTube tests “fingerprinting” tool.

Video-sharing website YouTube is to begin testing a new copyright protection tool in partnership with Time Warner and Disney.


Paris Hilton accused of plagiarism

Hilton hotel heiress Paris Hilton has been accused of breaching copyright laws in releasing her debut single, Stars Are Blind.


ALCS Corporate Governance Review

ALCS is currently undergoing a review covering all aspects of our corporate governance. 


Patricia Alderman wins top female award

The Theodora Roscoe/Vera Brittain Cup was awarded to Patricia Alderman for her short story A Matter of Choice.


Copyright debate - view online now 

The Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society held a copyright debate on Thursday 8 March at The British Library. 


Da Vinci Code Appeal Rejected

Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh have failed in their appeal against Random House regarding the dispute about novel, The Da Vinci Code.   


NHS and cla agree new licence

New agreement reached after negotiations


Viacom to sue YouTube

Huge television company Viacom is taking legal action against video sharing site YouTube for copyright infringement.


Journal Articles and Single Tier Membership

Please click on the links below if you have any queries regarding the new single tier of membership or regarding the distribution of monies for journal articles.


what are words worth?

A survey commissioned by ALCS has found UK writers earn 33% less than the national average wage.


Google breaks copyright law

A court in Brussels has ruled Google is in breach of copyright after it published links to stories from Belgian newspapers without permission.


independent election results

The winners of the ALCS Independent Directors election have been announced.


Coca-Cola Accused of plagiarism

An unsigned band had claimed that Coca-Cola has plagiarised their animated video for use in an advertising campaign.


The Gowers Review of Intellectual Property

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, announced the publication of the Gowers Review on 06 December as part of the Pre-Budget Report.


The ALCS AGM 2006

The 28th Annual General Meeting of ALCS was held on Thursday 30th November at the Stationers’ Hall in Ave Maria Place, London.


Commission reduction for Members

ALCS is pleased to announce a reduction in the rate of commission that will be charged to all of our Members with immediate effect.


Single Tier Membership

With effect from 1 December 2006 all associate members will be requested to upgrade their membership status to that of Ordinary Member.


Memorandum & articles

Please click here to see the Memorandum & Articles of association of the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society agreed at the 2006 AGM.


the annual general meeting

Please click here to see the notes from the ALCS AGM held at The Stationers' Hall, London on 30th November 2006.


ALCS Distribution rules

Please click here to see the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society Limited distribution rules agreed on at the 2006 AGM.


Film directors fight for gadget tax

The European Commission is being urged by film directors to keep a tax on electronic gadgets.


Google buys YouTube for £883 million

Search engine giant Google has bought video-sharing website YouTube in a controversial £883million deal.


Kiran Desai wins Man Booker Prize

Kiran Desai has won the highly esteemed Man Booker Prize for her second novel, The Inheritance of Loss.


ALCS celebrates National Poetry Day

October 5 2006 is National Poetry Day and ALCS is delighted to celebrate it with all of our members.


MP3 players used to cheat in GCSEs

School children taking their GCSE examinations are using MP3 players to store information to copy in the exam hall.


iPod television is launched

Computer giant Apple has launched both an online movie store and a mini television device that enables users to watch videos on the move.


carol ann duffy wins t.s. eliot prize 

Carol Ann Duffy has won the T.S. Eliot prize for poetry for her latest collection of romantic verse. 


Google News to date back 250 years

Search engine giant Google has expended its news service to include stories up to 250 years old.


Government in copyright blunder

The British Government has been forced to remove a public service video from youtube.com due to copyright violation.


Google provides free novels

Search engine giant Google has launched a service where users can download and print classic novels free of charge.


£40k available to aspiring writers

The Society of Authors is awarding writers with grants from funds of approximately £40,000.


Court rules scent can be plagiarised

French cosmetics company L’Oréal has successfully won a ruling stating the smell of one of its fragrances should be copyrighted.


Lime Wire sued for £250 million

Lime Wire, a peer-to-peer file sharing system operator, is being sued by 13 record companies citing copyright infringement.


A novel that cannot be read

The first novel available exclusively as a digital download has become available to MP3 users, but not readers.


Winners of two top children’s awards announced

Today the winners of the CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Children’s Book Awards 2005 were presented their awards at the British Library.


Esmir Filho wins Cannes 2006 Grand Cru short script award

The winner of the Grand Cru Short Script Award, sponsored fully by the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, has been won by Brazilian writer-director Esmir Filho.


OWEN ATKINSON SUCCEEDS JANE CARR AS CEO OF AUTHORS’ LICENSING & COLLECTING SOCIETY

Today the Board of the Authors’ Licensing & Collecting Society (ALCS) announced Owen Atkinson as its new Chief Executive Officer.


ALCS' Submission to gowers review 

 Please click here to see the full submission. A summary of points in the ALCS response is below.


Dan Brown – The Latest

The High Court battle against Dan Brown began yesterday with allegations of plagiarism from the claimants’ lawyers.


American creators to be protected by new copyright policy

A congressional hearing on Small copyright claims in the US has heard that individual creators should be protected by any changes in the law.


james blunt in royalty dispute

Chart topping popstar James Blunt has had his royalties frozen after his producer claimed he co-wrote six songs on his album Back to Bedlam.


Victory for Dan Brown

The Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown has been cleared of all plagiarism charges by the High Court.


eBay hosts auction for collaborative thriller

A collaborative thriller is being written by 250 budding authors who bid for their chance to write a page on auction website Ebay.


Terry Pratchett: tackling the invisible crime

A full transcript of the interview with Terry as part of the Piracy feature in the May edition of ALCS News.


Pulitzer Prize Winner dies aged 100

Stanley Kunitz, a former US poet laureate and Pulitzer prize winner died in his sleep on May 14th after a 75 year writing career.


Susan Elkin wins top journalism award

ALCS Board member Susan Elkin has won an award that recognises outstanding female journalists for her Daily Mail article Terrorists with History.


Police Raid illegal DVD factory

A huge pirate DVD factory capable of producing 60,000 illegal films a day has been raided and closed down.


HMV to buy Ottakar’s

HMV, owners of the book chain Waterstones, is to buy the bookseller Ottakar’s following a ruling that stated it would not harm the public interest.


ALCS Announces £10 million Distribution to UK Writers March 2006

The Authors’ Licensing & Collecting Society (ALCS) today announced that it is to distribute £10 million to some 40,000 of the nation’s writers at its biannual royalty pay out this month.


laptops for third world children

 A laptop worth £57 designed for people in developing countries has been created by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in a project called “One Laptop per Child”.


Dan Brown begins court case battle

The trial of Dan Brown, multimillionaire author of The Da Vinci Code, started today (27/02/06).


new independent directors announced

The winners of the ALCS Independent Directors election have been announced.


Ali Smith wins Whitbread prize

Scottish author Ali Smith has won the Whitbread Novel of the Year award for her first full length work, The Accidental.


ALCS’ i2010 Submission

ALCS has made a submission to the EC and DCMS regarding their i2010:digital libraries consultation.


New Chair of Publishers Licensing Society announced

The Publishers Licensing Society (PLS) has appointed Christopher Collins as its new chair.


Distribution News - Changes in 2005

There are now two main distributions a year, with savings having been made in both cost and time.


ALCS' Strategic Plan

Over the last 18 months ALCS has undergone a period of review. We have been looking at internal processes alongside the services that we provide for our members.


New BOard mEMber announced

At the ALCS AGM in November 2005 Edel Brosnan was announced as the new Writers' Guild of Great Britain representative on the ALCS Board of Directors.


Grokster

A landmark Supreme Court case.


“Digital Switch by 2020” says British Library

A trend for the future?


Nation’s Readers To Benefit From New Collective Rights Management Agreement

The Publishers Licensing Society (PLS) and Authors’ Licensing & Collecting Society (ALCS) announced today that they have signed an agreement that establishes terms for a new five-year partnership. 


Membership Consultation

ALCS is currently undergoing a consultation process with its membership.