Publishing

Our Publishing team advises clients operating both in the digital market and traditional print sectors; combining areas of expertise such as corporate, intellectual property, reputation management and dispute resolution. 

Digitisation has had a dramatic effect on many parts of the publishing industry. We can help with the key issues involved with online publishing and ensure that, in dealing with end users, publishers comply with the regulatory matrix governing the basis on which online services are offered. We also understand and regularly advise on the advertising models and associated contracts through which online publishers monetise their content.

CMS also has established and wide-ranging experience in podcasting. The podcasting market has grown exponentially over the last few years with resulting challenges around discoverability, revenue generation and ensuring that content stands out. We are well placed to assist content producers, aggregators and advertisers in this space. 

Amongst the many changes that the publishing industry has undergone in recent years, the following are at the forefront of the work we are doing:

• Copyright Reform: While the government has recently suspended planned reforms to the UK copyright regime, post-Brexit, the UK is free to amend and reform its copyright legislation at will. It remains to be seen whether copyright reform will resurface and take precedence and if it does, what it could mean for those in the industry. In the EU, reform of Article 15 of the Copyright Directive means that press publishers now have the right to claim revenues from online uses of their publications by information society service providers. While the scope of this right is yet to be fully determined, it is clear that this is a paradigm change in the relationship between press publishers and internet providers.  
• AI and Journalism: Increasingly, news organisations are considering AI to either generate whole articles or assist journalists with their work. This has the potential to trigger a dramatic change in journalism and the publishing industry more widely. Whether AI could ever replace journalists wholesale, or will merely act as a tool used to verify output and increase efficiency, remains to be seen. 
• An Adapting Market: As technology and business models evolve, the publishing market is continually adapting and innovating. Recently the debate, for news publishing at least, has been around pay walls. This is most clearly demonstrated by the growth in digital subscriptions including paid subscriptions to podcasts as an alternative to a purely advertiser funded revenue model. The print sector has also had to adapt to spiralling costs for physical production and distribution.   

Highlights of our recent experience: 

• BBC Worldwide on a combined sale, licensing and contract publishing deal with Exponent Private Equity in relation to BBC Worldwide’s consumer magazine business and publishing ventures with Pearson, Penguin and Random House.
• Bloomsbury on the acquisition of The Consortium International Publishing Group Limited, the international academic and professional publisher from Nova/Paul Investments Capital and management shareholders.
• A leading audiobook and podcast service on its talent and content acquisition agreements, including IP licence and distribution agreements with authors and publishers. 
• Global Radio in its acquisition of the podcast hosting, analytics and monetisation platform Captivate Audio Ltd. Captivate hosts over 14,000 podcasts and assists podcasters with distribution and promotion, and it also has a user base in the US. Captivate was founded by the two sellers in this transaction who will remain with the business post-completion and will be integrated into Global Radio’s audio entertainment offering, Global Player. Captivate, combined with the scale and reach of Global Player and Dax (Global’s Digital Ad Exchange) will be a competitive advantage for Global Radio.