The Copyright Hub launches licensing application

UK website the Copyright Hub has launched a digital application that will help copyright owners provide access to their images for members of the public and businesses.

Launched yesterday, July 30, the application was developed with online marketing company Digital Catapult and will make it easier for internet users to purchase copyright protected photographs from the online database 4Corners Images.

The application has been “developed to enable creators to give permission for their work to be used both commercially and by members of the public”, according to the Copyright Hub.

It is intended to be the first of many online applications at the hub that offer right owners the chance to license their protected works to the public.

Attending the launch was the UK’s intellectual property minister Baroness Lucy Neville-Rolfe.

The application has already attracted the interest of Australian-based rights group Copyright Agency, with which the Copyright Hub has agreed to share the technology.

Neville-Rolfe said: “The Copyright Hub’s innovative use of new technology will unlock a treasure trove of content and ensure fair rights for right holders.

“The government is committed to making the UK the best place in Europe to innovate and grow a business and that is what the Digital Catapult is helping to do—acting as a catalyst for growth in promising markets where the UK is leading the world,” she added.

Richard Hooper, chair of the Copyright Hub, said: “This is a proud moment for the Copyright Hub team. The government has supported us since the whole process began with the ‘Hargreaves Report’ in 2011, and now we are beginning to see a new era for copyright put in place.”

In addition, the Copyright Hub has launched a new website—copyrightdoneright.org—to “generate support” for the hub’s activities.