PR people do not like the NLA and its licencing of newspaper copy. Some, including the PRCA, the body representing PR agencies, are quite hostile, questioning the moral right to charge businesses for right to share press stories with their clients and customers.
There are has to be some sympathy - in a society where we can share almost everything immediately it is surely an anachronism. And in many instances PR people help create or contribute to a story in the first instance.
But copyright law is very clear, as this article from Howard Kennedy explains. Alex may not win many PR friends, but as the law currently stands every PR should take a few minutes to read it.
Do PRs need a licence? The short answer is yes. Just like books, music and films, newspaper and magazine content (both the articles and the pictures used to illustrate them) is protected by copyright, which confers on the owner of that content the exclusive right to exploit it. These rights will include, among other things, the right to copy that content and, crucially, to prevent others from doing so.
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