Copyright Clearance Center Integrates Copyright Permissions Within Blackboard; Addresses Growing Focus on Copyright Compliance at Colleges and Universities; Delivers Permissions Quickly and Easily to Faculty and Staff.

DANVERS, Mass. -- Copyright Clearance Center (CCC), the world's premier provider of copyright licensing solutions, has announced the integration of its solutions within the Blackboard Learning System(TM), a leading course management system used by higher education and K-12 schools. Called the Copyright Permissions Building Block and available free of charge, the integration for the first time enables faculty and staff to quickly and easily obtain licenses to post copyrighted text-based content within Blackboard when developing electronic course materials.

"I applaud the CCC-Blackboard integration because it places copyright permission capability where it is most critically needed: within the course management system where faculty and staff engage in the e-learning development process," said copyright expert Laura Gasaway, director of the law library and law professor at the University of North Carolina. "Much attention has focused on file sharing of movies and music by students, and with it has come greater awareness of copyright compliance at colleges and universities. The Permissions Building Block makes it easier for academic institutions to uphold intellectual property rights while demonstrating to students the importance of copyright law."

Used at nearly all American colleges and universities, course management systems allow instructors to distribute educational materials electronically and better communicate with students about assignments, tests and grades. The Blackboard Academic Suite is used by more than 1,200 academic institutions. CCC is the leading reproduction rights organization in the world, managing the rights to millions of works and representing, directly or indirectly, thousands of publishers and hundreds of thousands of authors and other creators. Its licensing solutions are used by more than 1,000 academic institutions.

"Blackboard is excited and pleased about the Copyright Permissions Building Block," said Jan Day, Director of Standards and Interoperability at Blackboard. "We encourage our clients to take advantage of this valuable resource. Blackboard strongly values intellectual property rights and we encourage our users to be copyright compliant."

"This integration is yet another success in making the 'right thing' become the 'easy thing,'" said Tracey Armstrong, CCC's Executive Vice President. "After Blackboard users have selected the content for their courses, they simply launch the Copyright Permissions Building Block and all the information needed to secure permissions is delivered instantly -- without leaving the Blackboard environment."

The integration was achieved using CCC's Copyright Integration Services and Blackboard's Building Blocks program. Copyright Integration Services are used by software vendors, providers of Web services and coursepacks, and other organizations to integrate copyright permissions into their applications. More information can be found at copyright.com/partners.

For more information on the Copyright Permissions Building Block, visit www.copyright.com/blackboard.

About Copyright Clearance Center, Inc.

Copyright Clearance Center (CCC), a not-for-profit organization, is the world's largest licensing agent for text reproduction rights and provider of licensing services for reproducing copyrighted materials in print and electronic formats. CCC currently manages rights relating to over 1.75 million works and represents thousands of publishers and hundreds of thousands of authors and other creators, either directly or through their representatives. CCC-licensed customers in the U.S. number over 10,000 corporations and subsidiaries (including nearly all of the Fortune 100), as well as thousands of government agencies, law firms, document suppliers, libraries, academic institutions, copy shops and bookstores. Copyright Clearance Center is at www.copyright.com.