AI TAKES CENTRE STAGE AS PLS CONFIRMS LINE UP FOR PLS CONFERENCE 2025

With AI and copyright making national headlines, attendees will gain timely insights from keynote speaker Karen Rønde, Chief Executive of the DPCMO, on how she has campaigned against the dominance of ‘big tech’ and has successfully secured payment agreements with large online platforms for use of content. DPCMO, which represents 99 percent of the Danish news industry in collective licensing, has concluded licensing agreements with a number of large online platforms. It also made news in April 2024 when it threatened to sue Open AI if they did not conclude negotiations on a collective
licensing deal and in February 2024, along with other rights organisations, reported Apple to the Danish police for copyright infringement and the use of content in its Apple News app without permission or remuneration.

A policy panel will feature key figures from the UK creative industry’s campaign against government plans to introduce a new copyright exception for AI. Seb Cuttill, Parliamentary and Campaigns Manager at the News Media Association, Sara Lloyd, Group Communications Director and Global AI Lead at Pan Macmillan, and Tim Flagg from UKAI, the trade association for the UK AI sector, will join PLS’ Head of Policy and Communications, Will Crook, to discuss the ‘Make it Fair’ campaign, as well as recent events in Westminster and potential next steps.

As with last year, PLS’ four trade association members will provide sessions. Professional Publishers Association Chief Executive Sajeeda Merali will be joined by Chris Duncan, Chief Executive of Seedelta. Chris will draw from his extensive experience leading major publishing businesses through rapid technological changes to provide an overview of the
AI and publishing landscape. Jack Newton, Head of Content Protection and Enforcement at the Publishers Association, will highlight the role of shadow libraries and how they have been controversially used to train well-known large language AI models.

The Independent Publishers Guild session will be hosted by publishing technology expert and author of the ‘Context Window’ newsletter on AI and publishing, George Walkley, who will review the threats and opportunities that AI presents to publishers. Leslie Lansman, Head of Permissions and Licensing at Springer Nature and Chair of the Association of
Learned and Professional Society Publishers’ Policy Committee, will be joined by Chris Kemp from Kemp IT Law and Professor Emily Hudson from Oxford University – and this year’s Charles Clark Memorial Lecture speaker at London Book Fair – to discuss some of the lessons learned from the litigation that has taken place between rightsholders and AI
developers across the world.

Away from AI, the rights panel will convene after lunch to discuss careers in rights. This year, the panel will be chaired by the PLS Rights Group co-chairs, Jessica Rutt, International Rights and Licensing Manager at RCNi, and Claire Harper, Associate
Director, Global Rights and Licensing at Sage. Whilst earlier in the morning, author of ‘Selling Rights’ Lynette Owen and rights expert Diane Spivey will be joined by Duncan Calow from leading global law firm DLA Piper to provide a 3-part introduction to rights seminar that will give attendees all they need to know about the basics of rights and
licensing.

Practical advice for publishers on licensing content for AI will be given in a session by experts Clare Hodder, Director of RightsZone, and Adele Parker, Head of Rights at Taylor and Francis Group. James Bennett, Head of Rightsholder Relations at the Copyright Licensing Agency, will be on stage to give an update on CLA licensing to business, higher education and the public sector over the past year and will also separately cover the CLA’s recent work to license AI and its development of a training licence for AI models. Grace Leaper, Publisher Operations Manager at NLA Media Access, will be setting out
how by policing their copyright, publishers can successfully commercialise their content in a digital age. Publisher Relations Executive, Amy Byrne, will also be giving an introduction to PLS and updating conference attendees on the work carried out by PLS over the past year.

PLS Conference is free to attend, and registration is now open online (https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/pls-conference-2025-tickets-1185472262449). The full programme with details of speakers and timings can also be found online
(https://www.pls.org.uk/media/2224/plsc25-programme.pdf). Food and drink will be provided throughout the day, and attendees are invited to join a drinks reception at the venue after the close of the Conference.

Please email Esmé Lee at comms@pls.org.uk or call 020 7079 5938 if you have any questions or require any further information. PLS Chair Monisha Shah said: I’m excited to be attending my first PLS Conference as PLS Chair. I believe it’s a great opportunity for PLS to uphold its commitment to publishers of all sizes to help improve knowledge of rights and licensing across the industry and to share best practice as widely as possible. Whether you have a basic understanding of rights or if you are working at the heart of a rights team, I believe PLS Conference 2025 has something to offer everyone
involved in such an important part of publishing.

PLS CEO Tom West said:
AI and its relationship with copyright and publishing is undoubtedly one of the hot topics within the industry. I’m delighted that we’ve secured leading voices such as Karen Rønde, who is working at the forefront of these issues on behalf of the creative industries, to speak at this year’s Conference. I invite anyone working in rights and licensing, or with an interest in copyright to join us for what promises to be an insightful and energising day. PLS Conference 2025 keynote speaker Karen Rønde said: I’m very proud to be this year’s PLS Conference keynote speaker, especially at such an important time for copyright and publishing. The challenges posed by the power and influence of ‘big tech’ are common, whether you’re a publisher in Denmark or the UK. The need for trusted, curated content and the role of publishers has therefore never been
more important. PLS Conference is a wonderful opportunity for our industry to come together to share knowledge and build a sustainable partnership with the tech sector based around licensing.