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Get to grips with Copyright (full article)
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, they 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.”
Museums should always seek the necessary rights to use copyrighted material; this applies right across the board as there are few defences to copyright infringement.
They should also be very careful when working in partnership with third parties. Those parties could acquire the reproduction rights of objects in collections and cash in, for example, by producing high quality photographs, undermining the museum's ability to make money from them itself.
The owner of an artefact may be a completely different person or body from the owner of the artefact's copyright. The person who hands over a collection of letters is likely to be a descendant of the recipient and, therefore, has no claim to any copyright which resides with the person who wrote them and their descendants.
Care also needs to be taken with information about objects. Data Protection issues can arise from the use of details that identify copyright owners. There may also be Freedom of Information (FOI) or other implications regarding what information an organisation chooses to disclose in the context of a commercial negotiation.
“It's not just documents and art works that are covered,” adds Naomi Korn. “Photographs, user-generated content, sound recordings, films and maps are similarly protected.”
The Collections Trust is committed to promoting awareness and understanding of copyright and IP rights in museums and other organisations with collections. We are the UK's leading organisation for support, advice and training in the management, use and exploitation of rights for collections. We also promote the interests of collections and copyright to the government and key stakeholders.
Collections Link provides a range of resources, with links to other sources of information, access to expert advice and details of copyright training across the UK.
Article by John Holt for the Collections Trust
© All material on Collections Link, copyright MDA and other National Organisations 2006, all rights reserved
