SIX OF THE TOP TEN LAW FIRMS GO DIRECT WITH THE FINANCIAL TIMES
May 6 2008
Published: May 6 2008 17:59 - Last updated: May 6 2008 17:59

The Financial Times has direct agreements with six of the world’s top ten law firms for unlimited access to Financial Times digital content. The licence allows access to Financial Times content via both FT.com and a wide range of third party channels.

The Financial Times content licensing strategy changed in April 2008. Financial Times content is now available via 12 third party news services to organisations with a direct licence. The licence is designed to create a direct relationship between the Financial Times and its corporate customers and to ensure a clear separation of the value of FT content from the value created by news aggregation services.

Caspar de Bono, Managing Director B2B at the Financial Times, said: “The client’s of the world’s leading law firms are becoming increasingly international in their focus. Our purpose is to provide news, comment and analysis to senior business decision makers and their professional advisers. To filter out the noise and publish concise content that can be relied on for its integrity and accuracy. By creating a direct relationship we are learning how law firms derive value from Financial Times content and as a consequence we are granting wider usage and distribution rights than previously. We have designed the licence to be platform neutral to give our customers the flexibility of accessing our journalism through whichever technology solutions are most suited to the way they work.”

Notes to Editors on the New FT Content Licence:

• Subscriptions to FT.com can continue to be purchased by individuals. The content licences are for organisations that wish to benefit from the economy of purchasing multiple licences and the flexibility of accessing Financial Times content across many platforms.
• The new access model was announced on the 1st October, six month in advance of the proposed change. This was done to give customers and third parties plenty of time to make arrangements. From April 2008, there has been a day-of-publication feed available to those with a Financial Times content licence only.
• 300 organisations now have a direct licence with the FT.
• 12 news aggregators have agreed to support the new licensing model. Each of these organisations are acting as Authorised Agents, licensed to provide access to FT content to FT Licence holders. Buying an FT Content Licence does not include a subscription to any of the third party services.
• From April, the FT will no longer receive royalty payments for FT digital content from news aggregation providers, nor will any news aggregator be licensed or permitted to charge for access to FT digital content. The only exceptions to this are for academic customers and public libraries and in the case of transitional arrangements for customers that qualify for a ”bridge licence”.
• Further details can be found at www.ft.com/corporate
• Contact details for customers interested in a FT Content Licence:
  ftsales.support@ft.com, T UK: +44 (0) 20 7873 4001, T US: +1 877 843 3399
  

For media enquiries please contact:

Kristina Eriksson, Financial Times
Communications Manager
T: +44 (0) 20 7873 4961
E: kristina.eriksson@ft.com

About the Financial Times

The Financial Times Group, one of the world’s leading business information companies, aims to provide a broad range of business information and services to the growing audience of internationally minded business people. The FT Group includes:

• The Financial Times, one of the world’s leading business newspapers, is recognised internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. Providing extensive news, comment and analysis, the newspaper is printed at 24 print sites across the globe, has a daily circulation of 454,937 (ABC figures, March 2008) and a readership of more than 1.3 million people worldwide.
• FT.com is one of the world’s leading business information websites, and the internet partner of the FT newspaper. FT.com is the definitive home for business intelligence on the web, providing an essential source of news, comment, data and analysis for the global business community. FT.com attracts 6.2 million unique monthly users generating 48 million page views (ABC electronic figures, March 2007). FT.com has 101,000 subscribers.
• Through FT Interactive Data, the FT Group is one of the world’s leading sources of securities pricing and specialist financial information to global institutional, professional and individual investors. Its products include eSignal, an online realtime streaming quotation service for brokers and active traders.
• FT Business, which produces specialist information on the retail, personal and institutional finance industries. It publishes the UK’s premier personal finance magazine, Investors Chronicle, and The Banker, Money Management and Financial Adviser for professional advisers.
• The Mergermarket Group, whose products and services provide the global advisory and corporate communities with intelligence and analysis. With regional head offices in London, New York and Hong Kong and 200 journalists in 46 locations worldwide, reliable and validated proprietary intelligence and historical data is provided via the mergermarket, dealReporter, Debtwire and wealthmonitor on-line platforms.
• The Financial Times Group also has a stake in a number of joint ventures, including;
  • FTSE International, a joint venture with the London Stock Exchange.
  • Vedomosti, Russia’s leading business newspaper and a partnership venture with Dow Jones and Independent Media
  • A 50% stake in BDFM, publishers of South Africa’s leading financial newspapers and websites.
  • A 50% stake in The Economist Group, which publishes the world’s leading weekly business and current affairs journal.

The FT Group is part of Pearson plc, the international education and information company.