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Get to Grips with Copyright
Copyright is one of the key issues affecting any organisation with a collection. People working in museums, libraries and archives often worry about who owns what, are sometimes perplexed by publishing rights and occasionally even fret about photocopying rights. They also worry about rights issues associated with content on the web.
“However, copyright can be a positive and empowering tool,” says Naomi Korn, the Collections Trust's IP Officer. “It can be controlled, rather than it controlling you.”
“Copyright is, essentially, a means for organisations that have collections to raise revenue and to achieve their educational mission,” says Naomi Korn. “Staff shouldn't lose sleep about it but should keep it in mind, while always being aware that carelessness can create avoidable risks.” - Read the full article
European Commission Green Paper - Copyright in the Knowledge Economy
The European Commission has recently issued a Green Paper on Copyright in the Knowledge Economy with the intention of seeking views about the possible extension to the copyright exceptions across Europe. Further details are available at: http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/copyright/copyright-infso/copyright-infso_en.htm
This is an extremely important opportunity for organisations across the public sector, such as museums, libraries, archives and educational institutions to influence change across Europe in how content can be accessed and used. The Collections Trust has written a template letter to the EC outlining some key principles about the copyright exceptions, which we are recommending that organisations across the public sector complete and return to the email addresses given at the top of the letter. The consultation closes on 30th November 2008 so an immediate response is crucial.
Download the template response letter (RTF, 64K)
You can also read the Collections Trust's and Museum Copyright Group's own responses to the consultation below:
Download the Collections Trust consultation response (PDF, 511K)
Download the Museum Copyright Group response (PDF, 172K)
Collections Trust Intellectual Property Manifesto for Museums
The Collections Trust has published an Intellectual Property (IP) Manifesto, which aims to increase understanding of the relationship between IP issues and best practice in the management of collections. It sets out the Collections Trust's priorities for delivering services which will best enable museums to take advantage of the commercial, creative and educational opportunities presented by effective management of their IP.
Getting Started
A good understanding of copyright is essential for museums, libraries and archives for two reasons:
- As a part of the Creative Industries we generate, or help others to generate, a huge amount of copyright material;
- As guardians and providers of cultural material, we are some of the biggest users of other people's copyright There are copyright implications to almost everything we do with our collections.
Copyright Essentials
To find out more, the best place to begin is with the series of Copyright Essentials factsheets from the Collections Trust:
You can also discover further tips and support about managing rights and getting permission in our new 'How to Do' guides:
Copyright for Collections
Now that you have a good understanding of the basics of copyright law, it is useful to understand how it interacts with the legal and ethical requirements of your collection. The Collections Trust provides a series of factsheets on Copyright for Collections.
Volunteers and Copyright
This factsheet provides an overview of the relationship between copyright and the work created and used by volunteers.
Digital Copyright
The increased use of digital technologies, and particularly the Internet, to publish information about collections has also created increased concern about the management of digital copyright.
Creative Commons
Creative Commons is an online initiative that offers digital content producers the opportunity to select from a range of licences which permit access to their content.
