Download Copyright and Digital Media Notes from the JISC Digital Media

Copyright and Digital Media
Notes from the JISC Digital Media Workshop 13th October 2010
Background
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Traditional laws unclear in a digital context
Growing gulf between what technology enables you to do and what you are legally allowed to
do
Licensing and technical protection measures being used to provide varying degrees of access to
content
Intellectual Property Rights
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Rights which protect the fruits of human innovation, invention and creativity
Copyright is one of a range of these rights
Like all property, these can be sold, bequeathed, rented or given away (except for Moral rights)
Owning the work does not mean that you own the rights within that work
‘Property’ means that the rights holder has the exclusive right to exploit their economic and
financial value
Family of Intellectual Property Rights
These include:
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Patents
Design rights (for example the shape of a product)
Performance rights
Copyright
Trademarks
Database rights (the data may be factual data in the public domain, but the structure of the
database, and how the data is presented will not)
Others including Moral rights
Moral Rights
Moral rights are a subset of copyright, they include the right of attribution and the right to preserve the
integrity of a work from alteration, distortion, or mutilation. Moral rights are distinct from any economic
rights tied to copyrights. Even if an artist has assigned their economic rights of a work to a third party,
they still maintain the moral rights to the work.
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Right to be identified as author (paternity)
Right not to have work falsely attributed (false attribution)
Right to object to derogatory treatment (integrity)
Right to privacy for private films and photographs (privacy)
Copyright Basics
Covers all creative works both in print and electronic media, including:
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Literature
Artistic works
Music
Film
Sound
Dramatic works
Broadcasts
Typographic works
Criteria for Copyright
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Work must be fixed in material form
Ideas or facts not protected by copyright
Copyright automatically ‘subsists’ when a work is created
The work must be original
The copyright symbol is recommended but not obligatory
Works covered by UK copyright law must be created by a UK citizen or resident, or work first
published in the UK. Other works protected by overseas copyright laws.
Who owns copyright
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The author or originator of work owns the copyright
Unless the work was created while under a contract of employment, in which case the employer
owns the copyright.
o An exception to this is sound recordings. For example, a recording of an employee
speaking remains the right of the employee, unless this right is explicitly waived in the
employees employment contracted.
Commissioned work by freelancers remains the right of the freelancer, even if they have been
paid to produce the work, unless they have specifically assigned the rights, and moral rights to
the work remain, unless waived. This needs to be considered and form part of the contract for
commissioned work.
It is possible for multiple rights holders to exist, and permission to use a copyrighted work must
be gained from all the rights holders.
Rights may be:
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Sold or assigned
Licensed (exclusively or non exclusively)
Waived
Bequeathed
Expired
Copyright duration
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Artistic, literary, dramatic, musical works and films have a copyright of the authour’s life + 70
years
There are some exceptions to this
o Broadcasts, sound recordings 50 years from creation
o Typographical arrangements 25 years from creation
o Crown Copyright from creation for unpublished works, and 50 years after creation for
published works
o Some older pre 1996 works
Copyright an overview
http://www.jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk/crossmedia/advice/copyright-an-overview/#cp2
The Copyright Holder can
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Copy the works
Broadcast the works
Perform the works
Adapt the works
Issue the works to the public
Communicate the works to the public
Using copyrighted works
These can only be used if one of these circumstances exists:
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The rights holder gives you permission
You own the rights
The rights have expired
Under copyright exceptions
Risk assessed approach for orphan works (This is a specifically for the archiving of historical
works where the originator is unknown)
Copyright Exceptions – legal defences, not rights
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Permitted acts
‘Insubstantial’ part of the work (less than 5%) for criticism review or reporting
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Non-commerical private study or research
Anonymous works where the copyright is likely to be expired
Works of artistic craftsmanship on permanent public display – this applies to public sculpture
but not works in museums and galleries
Education exceptions (these are very limited) Copying for the purposes of instruction or
examination. This does not include publishing educational resources on an educational website,
as these would be accessible by anyone.
Copyright in Images
Some particular challenges with photographs and digital images:
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Originality of scans and digital photographs of other works
Copyright ownership and duration of older works
Orphan works
Other Rights and Legal issues to consider
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Data protection and the processing of digital information
Human Rights Act – images of adults and particularly children
Obscene, libelous or defamatory images
Contractual issues
Licensing issues
Licences are the tools to facilitate rights transactions
Different types of licence relate to digital media:
 Transactional licence (gaining permission from the copyright holder for use)
 Open access licences (for example Creative Commons)
 Blanket licences (not generally applicable for publishing work accessible by the general public,
such as publishing material on the internet)
Creative Commons Licences
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See www.creativecommons.org
Available in several different formats
o Short versions with symbols representing key terms of use
o More comprehensive legal form
o Machine readable code
Useful for finding digital images on the internet which are licensed for immediate use
Useful for providing access to:
o Material you have created
o Material for which you have permission to distribute
o Out of copyright material
Clearing Copyright
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Understand that you have a legal obligation to obtain clearance
Determine who owns the copyright in your material (Often from several different sources, for
example video might include music and performance rights)
Set up a due diligence file
Decide on the scope of the activities you are seeking permissions for
Create an agreement to licence those activities (for example releasing material under Creative
Commons)
Locate the rights holders
Negotiate clearance to use
Indentifying Clearance Obligations
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What type of work is it?
Identify different types of copyright works
Is there a statement of authorship or rights ownership?
Is the work old enough for copyright to have expired?
Are there moral rights in the material?
Does the material depict living people?
Determining Rights Owners
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Creators, authors, artists, composers
Employers, companies, corporations
Freelancers or contractors
Estates or others who have been assigned the rights
May be joint ownership
May have third party rights holders
o Models, performers
o Persons depicted in the content
o Other copyrighted works in the content
Due Diligence
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Clear system for documenting attempts to trace ownership and subsequent licence negotiation
Records must exist for as long as those digital images exist
Keep copyright owners contact details up to date
Risk Management
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If you copy someone else’s content or make content available you will be taking some risks
The key is to identify and manage those risks, and to implement processes to reduce risk
Risks in Copying Digital Media
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Failing to identify all the issues involved
Failing to identify all the rights
Failing to find the rights holder
Finding the wrong rights holder
Unable to secure the necessary permissions
Summary
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Copyright is a key issue when creating and using digital media
Some other issues to consider, for example, moral rights, privacy rights
Identify all issues and risks
If you need permission allow plenty of time
Document your efforts and get these in writing
Open Government Licence
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Open Government Licence to replace existing Crown Copyright
Launched 30 September 2010
Compatible with Creative Commons licence
http://www.epsiplus.net/news/news/open_government_licence_in_uk/%28year%29/2010/%28month
%29/09
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/
Web 2 Rights Resources
http://www.web2rights.org.uk/
process flowcharts
http://www.web2rights.org.uk/charts.html