Access Intelligence pleased with Copyright Tribunal decision

Marketing and communications software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider Access Intelligence announced on Monday that the Australian Copyright Tribunal had delivered its decision in the proceedings brought by its recently-acquired subsidiary Isentia.

The AIM-traded firm said that in its decision, the Copyright Tribunal accepted the terms of the copyright licence proposed by Isentia.

It said that while details of the tribunal’s findings remained confidential, the decision provided that the licence fees payable by Isentia to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) on an ongoing basis would remain stable for the next four years.

Isentia regarded the licence terms and fees accepted by the Copyright Tribunal as “fair and reasonable”, striking the right balance between rewarding publishers for the usage of their content and not overcharging clients for usage of that content.

“I am reassured by the findings and outcome of the Copyright Tribunal,” said chief executive officer Joanna Arnold.

“Whilst we understand that CAL are considering their options for a judicial review of the decision, I believe that this ruling from the Copyright Tribunal is a strong sign that this area of uncertainty regarding future copyright costs is behind Isentia.

“We are committed to supporting high quality journalism and this ruling is categorically the right decision for the industry and is a positive outcome for the group.”

At 0923 BST, shares in Access Intelligence were up 1.6% at 138.7p.