Inside the Archive #63: A copyright data extravaganza

On Tuesday 2 February, BFI Southbank hosted the Right from the Start: Copyright Data That Works conference, part of the Our Screen Heritage project. Across the day speakers from National Library of Scotland, Bundesarchiv (German Federal Archive), University of Glasgow and many more spoke on topics from across the rights data spectrum. This included managing rights paperwork, clearing rights, designing user interfaces, understanding how data systems shape our data, and what rights mean for restoration.

I invited some of the BFI staff who attended to reflect on their experiences at the event.

– Louise McAward-White, Collections Data Manager

We spent a great day in the BFI’s most comfortable cinema to reflect on how best we can record, share and utilise information about copyright relating to the moving image. It was a great opportunity to meet with colleagues and customers, to talk in the round and to hear from all perspectives: from museum workers and commercial bodies to database programmers and rights experts. It felt very special to be in the same room working towards a shared goal of making our audiovisual heritage more accessible by making copyright less of a minefield and hopefully easier to navigate. It was great to hear from such a wide range of speakers, and to have the opportunity to bring our own experiences to the fore in an interactive workshop session.

We were stretched to consider what we would ideally want our copyright database or rights-management system to look like, and it was good to have the chance to reflect on, and celebrate, what we are already doing well at the BFI National Archive.

An insightful part of the day was hearing from and speaking with a variety of colleagues from different institutions. As someone who researches the BFI collections with access in mind, these interactions help to form new ideas. I am already considering how I can be more creative in unearthing unknown or lesser-known collections which may be rights cleared or out of copyright (the data is key). The event as a whole brought home the importance of accurate and clear copyright data linked to catalogue records. I enjoyed having the opportunity to really think about and discuss what that could look like.

People

It turns out lots of different sectors are interested in archival moving-image copyright: academics, national archivists, regional archivists, archival producers, rightsholders and data-systems specialists. I enjoyed meeting an access person from the Swedish Film Institute and archivists from The Box in Plymouth – we often redirect offers their way but don’t have direct contact, so it was nice to say hello.

Resources

The presentations were substantial, funny, and full of useful resources. Here are some highlights you can access:

• Dr Adelheid Heftberger from Bundesarchiv in Berlin shared the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO)‘s Out-of-Commerce Works Portal. It’s an inspired, large-scale approach to improving public access to in-copyright cultural-heritage works, shifting the onus for identifying copyright from heritage institutions onto rightsholders.
• Bartolomeo Meletti from University of Glasgow shared the CopyrightUser.org website. This wonderful website demystifies copyright for users, emphasising what you ‘can do’ with material rather than what you ‘can’t do’.
• Claudy Op den Kamp from Bournemouth University shared her stylish video essay about the 2008 restoration of Pandora’s Box and the rights complexities it lets loose:

Lingering reflections

Firstly, the value of building and sustaining professional networks. At the core of the conference, there seemed to be a strong professional community of people who have consulted, collaborated and problem-solved together. When working in a complex, sometimes frustrating area like copyright, I bet it’s helpful to have a collection of peers who not only understand the challenges but enjoy working through them.

Secondly, there is so much great work being done within the limitations of current copyright. However, hearing Dr Heftberger talk about the EU’s out-of-commerce works policy and how this completely changed the scale of their online archive access reminded me that copyright legislation is not immutable and that (with our strong professional networks) we can explore and advocate for policy changes that support archival access.

The conference was a joy to be a part of! Its title is the ever-important reminder that copyright and IP considerations should always be at the forefront of our collecting conversations. The range of top-notch speakers and perspectives allowed for some fascinating and animated discussions. I really valued the opportunity to gain and share knowledge and experiences with a wide range of peers grappling with similar challenges. The practical workshop, where we connected and co-designed workable solutions and captured the opportunities good rights information management can create, was a definite highlight.

We are pleased to confirm that all of the conference’s presentations were recorded. Further details about when and where these can be viewed will be relayed in a future edition of the blog.

Our Screen Heritage and the Inside the Archive blog is supported by the BFI Screen Heritage Fund, awarding National Lottery funding.