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07.14.2021 | Member News & Releases

Copyright Clearance Center Launches Annual Copyright License for Curriculum & Instruction

Enabling education technology companies, custom publishers, curriculum developers, and school districts to license the use of contemporary content in curriculum materials and manage copyright permissions at scale.

July 13, 2021 – Danvers, MA – CCC, a leader in advancing copyright, accelerating knowledge, and powering innovation, has launched its Annual Copyright License for Curriculum & Instruction, helping remove copyright barriers for U.S. schools, education technology companies, custom publishers, and curriculum developers who want to incorporate excerpts of copyrighted content from leading book, magazine, and news publishers into curriculum materials.

Classrooms, both real and virtual, use an array of products and methods to access and deliver content for instruction. Whether through educational technology, open educational resources (“OER”), or the traditional textbook, K-12 teachers and school districts need tools and applications that give them the flexibility to deliver high-quality content to students that are modern, personalized, local, diverse, equitable, and inclusive. And while education technology firms seek to fill this void with new applications, too often these firms may struggle with managing copyright permissions at the scale to meet this need.

The Annual Copyright License for Curriculum & Instruction eases the burden of obtaining individual licenses from individual publishers because it grants the rights to use copyrighted passages and excerpts from a diverse set of publishers offering high-quality, standards-aligned fiction and non-fiction books, magazines, scholarly journals, newspapers, and web content. Schools, districts, and their curriculum providers can then easily incorporate material from these publishers into locally developed curriculum which can be provided through education technology applications and platforms such as learning management systems.

In addition to changing content demands, the massive shift to fully remote or hybrid learning during the pandemic has created other licensing challenges. For remote instruction, educators rely on the ability to share materials with students digitally via online platforms, which may require different copyright permissions than in-person usage – and it’s not always clear exactly when such permission is needed or how to obtain these rights. The Annual Copyright License for Curriculum & Instruction provides a well-defined, flexible set of rights that supports both remote and in-person instruction.

“We know educators, school districts, and education technology providers care about respecting intellectual property, but they lack the dedicated staff with specialized knowledge needed to manage copyright at scale,” said Roy Kaufman, Managing Director, Business Development and Government Relations, CCC. “As the market is looking for new ways to handle remote learning and manage an emerging DEI-centered curriculum, we created the Annual Copyright License for Curriculum & Instruction to make it easier to provide students with the best possible content.”

“High-quality content is the bedrock of K-12 education,” said Jay Diskey, long-time education policy, and publishing leader. “Educators seek engaging, interactive curriculum to support personalized instruction to engage all learners, but don’t want to be slowed down by the tedious process of requesting and tracking copyright permissions in a changing classroom environment.”

“By giving every educator the resources to spark courageous thinking, we can truly have an impact on student growth,” said Eileen Murphy, Founder and CEO, ThinkCERCA, a charter licensee. “The Annual Copyright License for Curriculum & Instruction will help create equitable access to quality education while easing the burden of obtaining copyright permissions on an individual basis.”

“The prompt actions of CCC and its partners enabled educators and students to access resources in suitable and efficient ways during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. These access methods would not have been possible under pre-pandemic licensing arrangements,” said Kate Worlock, VP, Lead Analyst, Outsell Inc. “This new license marks the next stage, supporting the activities of educators and curriculum creators as they look to scale up the creation of innovative tools to meet market demand.”

Select publishers participating in the license include ABDO, the Associated Press, Bearport Publishing Company, Boyds Mill Press, Chicago Review Press, Children’s Art Foundation, Free Spirit Publishing, Fun for Kidz Magazine, Jump!, Just Us Books, McClatchy Newspapers, National Public Radio, Nomad Press, Rosen Publishing, Rowman & Littlefield Publishing, Skipping Stones, Smithsonian Books, and Tribune Content Agency. Additional publishers are being added every week.

To assist schools in navigating the complex world of copyright compliance, CCC recently introduced Copyright Essentials for K-12, an on-demand certificate course for professional development, providing copyright guidance for K-12 school districts in the U.S., education technology companies, curriculum developers, and custom publishers.

In September 2020, in coordination with select publishers, CCC made it easy for US schools and districts that adopted the EL Education Language Arts Curriculum to license trade book content during the pandemic and easily obtain permission to use grade level texts for distance learning.


About Copyright Clearance Center A pioneer in voluntary collective licensing, Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) helps organizations integrate, access, and share information through licensing, content, software, and professional services. With expertise in copyright and information management, CCC and its subsidiary RightsDirect collaborate with stakeholders to design and deliver innovative information solutions that power decision-making by helping people integrate and navigate data sources and content assets.

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