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Copyright ownership: the CDPA 1988 foundation
Under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA), copyright in your journalism belongs to you as the author from the moment the work is created, unless you created it as an employee in the course of your employment (s.11). As a freelance journalist, you own your copyright. You do not give this ownership away by writing for a publication — you only licence specific rights to them, and only for the terms you agree in writing.
This distinction — between ownership (copyright) and permission (licence) — is the foundation of every rights negotiation. A licence specifies what the publisher can do with your work, in which medium, in which territory, and for how long. Everything outside the scope of that licence remains yours. Understanding the standard rights models in journalism is essential to ensuring that every licence you grant is appropriately priced and limited.
The main licensing rights models explained
First UK serial rights
The right to be the first to publish your work in a UK periodical (print or digital). Once published, these rights are exhausted — you can then offer the work elsewhere as a second rights or reprint sale. This is the standard starting point for UK newspaper and magazine commissions. The fee should reflect first-time exclusivity.
Second serial rights (reprint rights)
The right to republish a piece that has already appeared elsewhere. Second serial rights sales generate additional income from work you have already been paid for. The fee is typically lower than a first rights sale. You can only sell second serial rights if your original contract was for first rights only — if you sold all rights or a perpetual exclusive licence, you have no second rights to sell.
Exclusive vs non-exclusive licence
An exclusive licence prevents you from granting the same rights to any other publisher during the licence period — even to yourself (i.e. you cannot republish it on your own website). A non-exclusive licence allows you to grant the same rights to multiple publishers simultaneously — useful for selling the same piece to multiple non-competing publications in different territories or sectors. Exclusive licences should always command a fee premium.
Electronic rights
The right to publish your work in digital formats: on a website, in a digital edition, in a newsletter, via an app, or in an online archive. These should be specified separately from print rights. If you sell “first UK print rights,” that does not include the right to publish on the publisher's website — that requires a separate digital or electronic rights licence.
Territorial limitations
A licence can be limited by territory: UK only, Commonwealth, North American, worldwide. A “first UK serial rights” sale leaves you free to sell “first North American serial rights” to a US or Canadian publication for the same piece. Territorial licensing allows you to maximise income from international markets for the same article.
Duration limitations
A licence can be limited in time: for six months, one year, or for a specified publication run. After the licence period expires, the rights revert to you. A perpetual licence — with no end date — is effectively permanent and reduces the future commercial value of the work significantly. Always seek to include a duration limitation in any licence you grant.
ALCS: collecting secondary royalties
The Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) collects money on behalf of writers from sources where individual licensing is impractical: photocopying in educational institutions, cable retransmission of broadcast programmes, digital text copying, and equivalent uses in other countries collected by overseas sister societies. ALCS distributes this money to registered members twice a year.
- Register with ALCS (alcs.co.uk) and log the titles and publication details of your work to be eligible for distributions.
- ALCS distributes funds from UK and overseas collecting societies — UK ALCS distributions and overseas distributions are paid separately.
- Educational photocopying licences (CLA licences) generate significant ALCS income for widely reproduced journalism.
- ALCS membership is open to all professional writers, including freelance journalists — there is an annual membership fee.
- You do not need to track individual copying instances — ALCS uses sampling and collective licensing to distribute funds.
Syndication: selling your work again
- 1Syndication is only possible if your original licence was for first rights only (or limited to a specific territory), leaving you free to sell rights in other markets.
- 2Direct syndication — contacting publications yourself — requires research into potential buyers and the ability to negotiate secondary rights fees.
- 3Syndication agencies handle sales on your behalf in exchange for a commission, typically 50% of the secondary fee. Major UK agencies include the Press Association's syndication arm and various specialist services.
- 4International syndication — selling UK articles to overseas publications — can generate meaningful income for pieces with broad international appeal.
- 5Your personal website republication of published work counts as a use of electronic rights — ensure your original contract includes or explicitly excludes this, and that you have the right to republish on your own platform.
Drafting a clear rights clause
A well-drafted rights clause specifies: (1) the type of rights (first, second, exclusive, non-exclusive); (2) the medium (print, digital, broadcast, all media); (3) the territory (UK only, worldwide); and (4) the duration (one year, until next publication, in perpetuity). An example: “First UK and Commonwealth serial rights, print and digital, exclusive for 90 days from publication, non-exclusive thereafter.”
The more precise the rights clause, the clearer the position of both parties — and the less scope for later disputes about what was actually agreed.
Common copyright licensing mistakes
- Agreeing “all rights” or signing an all-rights contract without understanding that this means you cannot resell, syndicate, or republish the work.
- Not specifying electronic rights separately from print rights — allowing a publisher to assume digital publication rights are included in a print licence.
- Not joining ALCS — missing secondary royalty distributions from educational and digital copying of your work.
- Republishing work on your own website or social media when you have only licensed first print rights — this is an unlicensed use of your own copyright work under the granted licence.
- Granting a perpetual licence without a fee premium to reflect the duration.
Related guides
Primary sources
- Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 — s.11 first ownership (legislation.gov.uk)
- CDPA 1988 — s.90 assignment of copyright (legislation.gov.uk)
- Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society (alcs.co.uk)
- NUJ: Copyright guidance for freelance journalists (nuj.org.uk)
- IPO: Copyright — intellectual property guidance (gov.uk)
- NUJ Freelance Fees Guide (nuj.org.uk)