IPO launches copyright guidance for self-employed creators
ALCS helped develop the new guidance alongside DACS, Bectu and other sector partners through the Good Work Self-Employed Creators Working Group.
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) launched new copyright guidance today for self-employed people working across the creative industries. The resources were developed with input from creative sector organisations including ALCS, DACS, Contemporary Visual Arts Network, Bectu, Artists Now, the Association of Photographers, Freelancers Make Theatre Work and others.
ALCS Chief Executive Barbara Hayes said copyright gives authors control over how their work is used and allows them to license it and earn a living from it, and said ALCS was pleased to have helped develop guidance that explains in plain language what rights authors have and how they can use them.
The guidance was developed through the Good Work Self-Employed Creators Working Group, which brings together organisations working on conditions, pay, skills and support for freelancers and self-employed people in the creative industries. Pierre Oliviere, Deputy Director of Business, Innovation, and Investment at the IPO, said the guidance is designed to make intellectual property easier to navigate and to give creators practical information to help them make informed decisions and get the most from their creative work.
Plain-language guidance on your own rights is worth having, full stop. ALCS, DACS, Bectu and a long list of partners sat in the room when this was built, so it's coming from people who know what a licensing clause actually does to your income. My advice is simple: go read it before you sign your next contract, not after.
From the Coral Wire edition of Fri, Nov 13 2026 · Coral Index 61/100 (Tailwinds building)