Frequently Asked Questions

On behalf of its Members, ERA operates a Licensing Scheme for the educational use of television and radio broadcasts. Uniquely serving the UK education sector, ERA is one of a range of collecting societies which help copyright owners and performers derive an income from the licensed use of their literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works.

The ERA Licence enables educational establishments to make recordings or copies of TV and Radio programmes for educational use.  Licensed establishments can then create libraries or collections of broadcasts which can be used for teaching and learning. The ERA Licence also enables access to online or on-demand services such as BBC iPlayer for educational use, in line with their terms and conditions.

If your establishment makes any use of recordings or copies of our Members’ broadcast programmes for educational use, having an ERA Licence is a legal requirement.

ERA grants licences to educational establishments covering rights that are recognised under two specific provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended).

We refer to this as “the Act” in these notes.

The two provisions are s35 (which deals with broadcasts and copyright works included in broadcasts) and paragraph 6 of Schedule 2 (which deals with performances that are included in broadcasts).

For simplicity we shall refer to these provisions as “s 35 provisions”.

S35 provisions allow for copying and other uses of broadcasts and copyright works and performances included in the broadcasts (whether television or radio) by educational establishments for non-commercial educational purposes; but make it clear that the uses are not permitted if, or to the extent that, licences are available authorising the acts in question.

ERA Members have agreed that their repertoire is to be licensed under ERA Licences for these purposes. It is referred to as “ERA Repertoire”.

The ERA Licence permits educational establishments to make or cause others to make copies of ERA Repertoire within licensed ERA Recordings and to enable the ERA Recordings to be used for non-commercial educational purposes of licensed educational establishments.

Copyright law provides authors and performers with a way of earning a living through the use of their creativity; it also enables broadcasters, producers and publishers to secure fair reward for their investment in that creativity. While copyright law protects the interests of copyright owners, it also balances this with the needs of users. The s 35 provisions achieve that balance by encouraging copyright owners to come together to offer a convenient and cost-effective licence, in this case for educational users.

Not currently.

Only “educational establishments” in the UK can take out an ERA Licence.

Educational establishments are defined as schools (including independent schools) and other establishments specified by Orders of the Secretary of State under s 174 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

These Orders provide for Colleges of Further Education, Universities and Colleges of Theology and Higher Education to be classified as educational establishments for this purpose.

ERA cannot license public libraries, commercial training organisations or educational units in museums and galleries, as these are not ‘educational establishments’ according to the Act.

If you’re not sure whether your institution is an educational establishment according to this definition referred to in the Act, please contact ERA for clarification.

No. The ERA scheme applies only under UK law and therefore the licence can only operate within the UK itself.

Not at present. Supplying recordings in either hard copy form or by electronic means to distance learning students outside the UK is not permitted under the ERA Licence.

ERA Recordings must always be made by or on behalf of, the licensed educational establishment.

Teachers and support staff can make copies at home or on site.

Authorised third parties can also make recordings or copies for use by a licensed establishment within the scope of the ERA Licence. This includes a third party operating approved exchange services and retaining ERA Recordings for access and use only by current ERA Licensees under an ERA Licence.

Licensees should check with ERA to ensure that ERA agreements are in place before using any exchange service.

All scheduled free to air radio and television broadcasts may be recorded for educational, non-commercial use.  This includes feature films.  A Licence is only required for programmes broadcast by ERA Members. Other free-to-air channels may still be recorded under the 1998 Act.

NOTE: if a service is received as part of a paid-for cable package for example, you should check the terms and conditions attached to that service, as these may supersede the terms and conditions of the ERA Licence. You can ask us for advice if you are unsure!

Educational establishments with an ERA Licence can access and download content from on-demand services such as BBC iPlayer, Channel 4, ITV Hub  and Demand 5 in a similar way to personal private users.

Users should check the terms and conditions of the services for details.

All rights of public performance are reserved.

Podcasts from ERA Members’ services can be downloaded for educational use.

In general, materials accessed via You Tube are not supported by the ERA Licence.  The Terms and Conditions of You Tube refer to ‘personal use only’ and this does not extend to use in educational establishments.  The exceptions to this are the You Tube channels maintained by the BBC.  Material from these dedicated channels can be used for educational use by educational establishments holding an ERA Licence.

If your institution has access to a foreign language broadcast which is receivable in the UK, the ERA Licence will permit the recording and educational use of that recording. However, if this service is received as part of a paid-for cable package for example, you should check the terms and conditions attached to that service as these may supersede the terms and conditions of the ERA Licence. You can ask us for advice if you are unsure!

Yes, extracts or parts of a programme may be recorded or copied and then stored.  Note that extracts and clips should still be identified as ERA Recordings.

They can be shown to students in a classroom, embedded in a presentation or work plan, or accessed independently by students.  Clips and programmes can also be delivered off-site to students and staff in the UK by means of a secure electronic network.  Please note that this does not apply to the ERA Streaming Platform, this content can only be streamed directly from the site.

Programmes may only be recorded, retained, stored and copied by licensed establishments for non-commercial ‘educational purposes’. These can only be shown to registered students and staff.

Here are some examples of excluded uses:

• Showing recordings for entertainment purposes, whether or not the audience has made a payment or donation to see the performance

• Including recordings or extracts in any corporate materials e.g. video, CD or DVD to promote the establishment, student societies or facilities within the establishment

• Showing licensed clips at a promotional event or conference

• Using stills from copies of programmes on the establishment’s website or in any other corporate materials e.g. a promotional prospectus

• Sale or commercial hire of recordings or copies of programmes.

No. Programme material must be used as it has been broadcast. This does not stop extracts or clips from programmes being used.  Adaptation, amendment, distortion or of material is not authorised under the Licence.

Modern software packages facilitate the extraction and ‘re-editing’ of film and video materials. Licensed establishments should ensure that such tools are used responsibly by students.

Programme credits are considered part of a broadcast and should not be edited from recordings.

Registered students, teachers or other employees directly involved in the students’ education can watch or listen to them.

Yes. Registered students (including UK-based distance learning students) may borrow and take off-site a licensed recording on DVD, CD,  hard-drive or cassette. As this may reduce licensees’ ability to ensure adherence to Licence terms and conditions, ERA recommends that you ask students to sign a declaration to confirm the material will be used only for legitimate non-commercial educational purposes.

Off-site streamed access to recordings by all students in a class or on a course through a secure service is also permitted.

Yes, including licensed recordings in such presentations is permitted, as long as the ERA Licence conditions are met.

Yes – either through a secure network or directly from our Members’ websites.

Recordings can be stored on DVDs, hard-drives, VLEs, Digital recordings and permitted downloads may also be stored on a licensed establishment’s server. Appropriate security systems must be in place to ensure that only authorised students and teachers can access the recordings.

Yes, ERA Recordings may be copied for educational use, as long as the conditions of the ERA Licence are met and no commercial element is involved.  Out-of-pocket expenses can be recovered if a copy is made for another ERA licensee.  Charging a fee over and above out-of-pocket costs is NOT permitted and may lead to legal action.

Online exchange of copies between ERA licensed educational establishments is permitted subject to the written approval of ERA and you should refer to ERA before undertaking such activity.

No. The copying of commercially-produced, pre-recorded CDs, DVDs, videos and audio tapes is not authorised by the ERA Licence.

Yes, ERA licensed analogue recordings may be converted into digital formats for the educational use of licensed establishments. For example, recordings currently on video may be digitised and stored on DVD or on the licensee’s server.

ERA Members have recently agreed that pre-1989 recordings are covered by the ERA Licence. This means that any VHS recordings of pre-1989 material can be digitised for ease of use. The same terms and conditions will apply to these recordings.

For as long as your establishment continues to have a valid ERA Licence.  Once an ERA Licence has been cancelled all recordings or copies must be destroyed.

Yes. All recordings, whether digital or analogue, must be clearly and appropriately labelled. Failure to do so may lead to Licences being withdrawn.

The wording ‘This recording is to be used only for educational and non-commercial purposes under the terms of the ERA Licence’ should always be applied.

Where possible the following information should also be displayed:

• Date (when the copy was made)
• Name of the broadcaster
• Programme title

Include the required details (see above) as a written opening credit or web page which must be viewed or listened to before access to the recording is .

Under the terms of the Licence, ERA is entitled to inspect recordings, including how they are stored and labelled (whether in physical form or on a server under the control of an establishment). By prior arrangement ERA’s Liaison Officer may visit licensed establishments to check compliance and to help establishments maximise uses of ERA Recordings within the ERA Licence.

An establishment making or using off-air recordings without an ERA Licence is in breach of copyright law and risks criminal prosecution or civil action.

In general, this is not required. However, under the terms of the licence, ERA can require selected establishments to keep records for a time-limited survey of use. There is no such survey running at this time.

Schools can contact our agents CEFM who administer schools Licences on our behalf. They run a helpdesk for schools at era@cefm.co.uk. 

Other institutions should contact ERA directly.

The TV Licence is separate from the ERA Licence.

If your establishment receives TV and radio programmes as they are broadcast or accesses BBC iPlayer, then a TV Licence will be required in addition to the ERA Licence.

Please contact bbc.co.uk for advice as to whether your institution requires a TV Licence.

Licences are valid for 12 months and run from specific dates for each sector. If you need to start a new licence inside the applicable 12 month period, your licence will run until the end of the applicable current licence period and the fee will be pro-rated accordingly.

It may be possible in some instances, although licences for one-off activities are not available. Please contact ERA directly for specific advice.

This depends on your sector:

Licences for state schools in England are automatically renewed through the central arrangement with the DfE.

Most state schools in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are renewed centrally at local authority level (though there are some exceptions).

All other establishments are contacted directly by ERA, our agents CEFM or umbrella organisations such as the Scottish Council for Independent schools and invited to renew their licence each year.

ERA publishes the current tariff for each sector on the ERA website. Licence fees are calculated on an annual basis according to:

• The type of educational establishment i.e. primary, secondary, further or higher etc.
• The number of full-time (or full-time equivalent) students registered at the establishment.

View ERA’s current tariffs

You don’t need to notify us of changes to student numbers over the course of a licence year.

There are some circumstances in which fees can be reimbursed.  In most cases this is not possible because revenue is distributed quarterly to all our Members.  Please contact ERA for specific advice.

You can do so by telephone 0208 837 3222, by email to era@era.org.uk or in writing to

ERA Ltd, Scott House, Suite 1, The Concourse, Waterloo Station, London, SE1 7LY.
It would be helpful if you could include your ERA Licence number, but it’s not a necessity.

The CEFM ( Centre for Education and Finance Management) is ERA’s appointed agent.  CEFM invoice and licence independent schools in Wales and England, and some state schools in Wales and Scotland.