Intellectual property rights form one of the great challenges for Images for the Future, since the majority of the content to be digitized is protected by copyright. Those rights are not always in possession of the archive that holds the material. Copyright holders must first give the go-ahead before films, videos, or photos can be preserved, digitized, and disclosed.
Tracing and involving the copyright holders is crucial for Images for the Future. We aim for sufficient copyright information from all the available collections to be collected and embedded, so as to pave the way for disclosure and exploitation of their content.
The material being digitized can, under certain conditions, be made available. Many variations are possible, ranging anywhere in between open and closed licenses. This is why Images for the Future is conducting research into suitable license models. The coming years will see research, the formation of license models, and the actual ‘clearing’ of the rights running parallel. The research findings will be shared with anyone interested via publications.
For more information about intellectual property rights research, contact Martijn Arnoldus: ma@kl.nl
