Ares Copyright Processing Changes After the CCC Web Service Update

The Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) has recently made several changes to its web service, which has required some changes to the copyright configuration and processing interface in Ares in order to keep integration with this service up to date. This article will outline the changes made to the copyright interface in the Ares Client, as well as detail the one-time configuration changes you may need to implement to continue using your existing CCC account to submit copyright orders through the Ares Client.

Configuration Changes

Changes to your Ares configuration may be necessary after updating Ares to use the new web service. Please review the information below and make any changes as necessary after performing your Ares update.

Ares Customization Manager Configuration Changes

The following existing or newly added customization keys may need to be configured with new values after updating:

• Copyright searching now requires valid CCC account credentials to be configured in the Ares Customization Manager. Please ensure that your CCCUsername and CCCPassword customization keys located in the System | Copyright section are properly configured with your institution's account information. 

• As of Ares v5.0.5/5.0.7, LegacyCCCUsername and LegacyCCCPassword customization keys have been added to the Ares Customization Manager under System | Copyright that can be configured with separate CCC Marketplace credentials used to authenticate with the old CCC web service used in Ares v5.0.3 and prior, if necessary.

  These keys should only be configured to contain your Marketplace credentials used to authenticate with the old CCC web service if you are using different CCC Marketplace accounts for the old and new web services. If the Marketplace accounts used by your institution are the same between web service versions, please do not configure these keys and continue to use CCCUsername and CCCPassword to enter your credentials.
• If your institution operates in multiple countries, your institutional CCC account may contain multiple Location IDs that will now need to be configured in the Ares Customization Manager:
  • If your institution only operates in a single country, no configuration changes are required and you should not make any changes to the CCCLocation key in the Customization Manager.

  • If your institution operates in more than one country and your CCC account contains multiple CCC Location IDs, each site should configure the new CCCLocation customization key with the CCC Location ID relevant to each site. This key can be found in the Customization Manager under System | Copyright. Please contact the CCC directly to obtain the proper Location ID information.

    If this key has not been properly configured, an Ambiguous CCC Location error will appear in the Ares Client. See CCC Account Credentials & Order Submission Errors for more information.

Changes to Copyright Processing in the Ares Client

Various changes were made to the copyright search and ordering process in the Ares Client to adjust to the changes made by the CCC in its new web service. Some of these changes are major, such as the new Special Request process that replaces the previous Special Order process and requires that the terms of the order are approved and/or negotiated directly with the rightsholder in the CCC Marketplace web interface. Other functionality, such as searching for an item's rightsholder and tracking copyright order information, has been maintained but slightly changed and streamlined within the Ares Client due to the CCC's API changes. Please review each section below for more information.

Copyright Search Changes | Copyright Ordering Changes | Changes to the Special Order Process

Copyright Search Changes

The following changes were made to both the Process Copyright screen and the Copyright tab on the Ares Item form:

• Searching now requires valid CCC account credentials to be configured in the Ares Customization Manager using the CCCUsername and CCCPassword customization keys. If your CCC credentials are invalid, you will see an error message stating "Error Searching/Saving Copyright Information" upon attempting a copyright search or opening the Ares Client.
• Removed the option to search by publisher.
• Changed the Page Count and Students fields on the Copyright forms to be read-only. The values for these fields will be drawn from the information set on the corresponding Course and Item records for the material. 
• Removed the Refresh Fees button from the Copyright search ribbon. Refreshing the Item or Process Copyright form will refresh the fees.
• Changed the Special Order status in the Right field to Special Request to reflect the new CCC Special Request process. See Changes to the Special Order Process for more information.

Copyright Ordering Changes

The following changes have been made to copyright order handling in the Ares Client to reflect the new order handling process implemented by the CCC in the latest version of its web service:

• Replaced the Special Order button with the Special Request button. See Changes to the Special Order Process for more information
• Added functionality to disable the Cancel Order button in the Ares Client if the CCC order cannot be canceled (e.g., if it has already been invoiced and the status in the Right field is CHECKED_OUT)
• The following order-related changes were made to both the Process Copyright screen and the Copyright tab on the Ares Item form:
  

  • Renamed the Order Header field to CCC Project. This field will contain the CCC Course Code associated with the item

    After the Ares 5.0.5/5.0.7 update, the Order Header label will continue to display with all legacy CCC orders placed using the old CCC web service in Ares v5.0.3 or prior. 
  • The field will also be renamed on the Copyright History grid
• Replaced the Order Detail field with a Marketplace Link hyperlink. This link will open an external web browser to the CCC Marketplace order for the course
• Added a new Special Request Status field. This field will only display on items for which the Special Request process is required
  • For these items, the Right field will contain the value SPR
• Reformatted the Terms field to display HTML text so that any links included in the terms can be clicked and opened in an external web browser

Changes to the Special Order Process

The previous Special Order process used when permissions for a publication are not immediately available has been replaced by a new Special Request process due to changes in the CCC API. The previous Special Order process would take place entirely in the Ares Client, whereas the new Special Request process will require certain actions to be taken in the CCC Marketplace.

Special Request Workflow

The new process for acquiring copyright permissions for items requiring a special order is as follows:

1. Items requiring a special request will display Special Request in the Right field on the Process Copyright screen or Copyright tab on the Item form.
2. Clicking the Special Request button for these items will initiate the special request process and update the Special Request Status field to NEW. The Right field will update to SPR.
3. After the process is initiated, the price must be approved manually in the CCC Marketplace web interface. Optional negotiation with the rightsholder over the price and terms of usage will also take place within the CCC Marketplace:
   • The CCC Marketplace order page for the course can be conveniently accessed from Ares and opened in an external web browser by clicking the Marketplace Link hyperlink on the Item form's Copyright tab 

   • A notification email from the CCC will be sent to the email address associated with the connected CCC Marketplace account and a flag will be added to the Ares record each time action is required in the CCC Marketplace (see Special Request Flags below) 

     Note: During this negotiation process, the Right field on the item record may switch between the SPR and GRANT or DENY statuses based on the order negotiation status in the CCC Marketplace. The flag added to the Ares item record will indicate the type of action needed in the CCC Marketplace to advance the negotiation process.
4. When the order is finalized in the CCC Marketplace, the Ares System Manager will update the record in the Ares Client with the relevant pricing and order information overnight:
   • If the special request is approved, the Special Request Status field will update to Complete and the Copyright Permissions Granted flag will be added to the item in Ares
   • If the special request is closed or canceled, the Special Request Status field will update to Closed and the Copyright Permissions Denied flag will be added to the item in Ares

Special Request Flags

Several new flags have been added to help facilitate the Special Request process in the Ares Client. All three indicate that action must be taken in the CCC Marketplace:

• Awaiting Customer Reply: Indicates that the rightsholder has asked for additional information
• Copyright Order Approved: Indicates that the rightsholder has approved the request and the approval for the order pricing needs to be accepted in the CCC Marketplace
• Copyright Order Denied: Indicates that the rightsholder has denied the request and the order needs to be reopened for further pricing negotiation or cancelled in the CCC Marketplace

Miscellaneous Changes

The following customization keys have been newly added or updated with new descriptions or values in the Ares Customization Manager:

• Added CCCSupportPage: Contains the URL for the Atlas Support page with CCC credentials documentation. This link will appear in error messages related to copyright processing to ease troubleshooting
• Added CCCMarketplaceUrl: Contains the base URL to use when constructing a CCC Marketplace deep link. Ares will use this URL to build links allowing quick navigation to the relevant Course page in the CCC Marketplace from the Item form in the Ares Client
• Changed CCCHomepage: Changed key value to https://www.copyright.com to point to the top-level page on the CCC website in order to prevent future link breakages due to URL changes
• Changed CopyrightAlertGranted: Description changed to reflect the terminology used in the new special request process 
• Changed CCCUsername and CCCPassword: Descriptions changed to note that CCC account credentials are now required for CCC searching and ordering in the Ares Client
• Removed CCCECCGatewayURI and CCCECCGatewayURL

Troubleshooting Information

If you are experiencing errors when performing CCC copyright searches or when placing CCC orders after updating, please see CCC Account Credentials & Order Submission Errors for detailed troubleshooting information.