Licence Checks

When creating a link to content in DCS you must complete the Licence Compliance Verification and Ownership section of the Content Request page. This process confirms that the content you are using is permitted under the CLA HE Licence and that your institution has the appropriate rights to use the source material.  
 
Licence Compliance Verification 
Clause 3.2 of the CLA HE Licence, a Higher Education Institution must own or subscribe to the original source material from which a copy is made. 

If your institution does not own the content item, you can purchase a Copyright Fee Paid Copy (CFP)copy to act as ownership. CFP copes can be ordered through the British Library via CLA’s EHESS service – directly from within the DCS.  

Permission Checks  
The DCS automatically checks permissions for you using the CLA Check Permissions integration. The system will indicate whether the title is:  
 
-Covered by the CLA Licence 

-Excluded

-Not Found  
 
These results are displayed within the Licence Compliance Verification section of the Content Request Page. 
 
 
Ownership Checks 
Integrated Library Management Systems (LMS) 

If your Library Management System (LMS) supports DCS integration and has been processed – the DCS will check your library catalogue to confirm ownership of the title you are using. 

Manual Ownership Confirmation 
 
If your LMS is not integrated – you must manually confirm ownership. 

You can do this by selecting the three-dot menu next to the Ownership tab; this will bring up a pop-up menu with the options to Override, along with the following options: 
-Owned but not Catalogued 
-Other 
-Copyright Fee Paid Copy  
-Not Owned  
 

Important changes in DCS 2: 

Personal copy has been removed. 

Owned but not catalogued replaces Purchased from DCS 1. 

Other has been added for CLA‑approved exceptional cases.

Not Found Titles

If a title is shown as ‘Not Found’ this means the Check Permissions API has been unable to identify the title in the permissions database.  
 
You can do the following if this is the case: 
1. Click View Details to review additional guidance  
2. Use the links provided to assess whether the content might still be permitted.   
 

If necessary, DCS 2 allows you to override the licence result. 

To do this: 

Click the three dot menu  in the Licence Compliance Verification section 

Select the appropriate override option  
 

The following override options are available in DCS 2: 

Primary Licence, Direct Permission Obtained, NLA Licence, Legal Exception, Open Access & Creative Commons, Out of Copyright, Second Extract Permissions. Hovering over the ‘i’ icon provides some more info on each override status. 

Important change:  
Special Licence Provision has been removed in DCS 2. Any migrated requests using this option will remain compliant for the current academic year but must be reassessed after rollover.

Ordering a Copyright Fee Paid copy 

If you do not own the title and require ownership to proceed, DCS 2 will present the option to order a Copyright Fee Paid (CFP) copy via EHESS. 

Once ordered, the CFP copy will act as ownership and allow you to continue with the content request.