4.2.2. Acknowledgement of the public domain
Some GLAMs expressly mention the public domain or imply that copyright expires.
GLAMs that publish open content. The British Library makes a statement on the public domain and flags materials may be marked as such online.[1] LSE Library includes a general discussion on the rights statements and licences used, referencing the public domain mark and no known copyright and what collections or items these statements apply to (e.g., "very old works").[2]
The National Library of Wales does not expressly mention the public domain, but states that "The Library does not claim ownership of copyright in digital reproductions. Access to reproductions shall be subject to the same rights as would apply to the work in its original format."[3] This information is separate from the Copyright policy, which includes general information on the rights statements used.[4] Immediately following reference to the 2015 UK IPO guidance, the Royal Pavilion & Museums Trust, Brighton & Hove states that "[i]t considers these surrogates to be in the public domain".[5] The Museum also commits to publishing "catalogue data about its collections under open licences or as public domain assets" where possible.
York Museums Trust has an extensive frequently asked questions type of policy, with user-centred prompts like "What can I do with YMT's online collections images?" and responses like "Images of works on which copyright has expired are marked Public Domain. We have no particular legal rights over these images, so they can be used for any purpose. Old artworks are a good example of public domain works." Screenshots accompany the answers, along with text requesting (rather than requiring) attribution: "All we ask is that York Museums Trust is credited in the following way whenever a Public Domain image in our collection is used. Image courtesy of York Museums Trust :: http:/yorkmuseumstrust.org.uk :: Public Domain."[6]
GLAMS that reserve all rights or use closed licences. Many GLAMS reference the expiration of copyright in tandem with new copyright claims, highlighting that the user should be on notice of any underlying rights that must be considered in addition to their own.
Sir John Soane's Museum claims "intellectual property rights in all content comprising or contained within this website" and reminds users "if a work of art, sculpture or work of artistic craftsmanship is still in the artist's copyright (where for example the artist is still alive or has died within the last 70 years) you will need to obtain the additional permission of the artist or his or her estate or successor in title in order to reproduce the work".[7] The Fitzwilliam Museum publishes low-resolution images under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence and notes this excludes "any images of works that are still in copyright (which includes anything where the creator is still alive of that falls within the period of date of death plus 70 years) or which are explicitly stated to be governed by a different licence".[8] Guernsey Museums & Galleries claims copyright in "images, design and text in the website" and notes "the picture library can only supply images of works that remain in copyright (where the artist
- ↑ Websites and online services, 7. British Library (Some eligible data - no new rights)
- ↑ Terms and conditions for re-using content, 25. LSE Library: The British Library of Political and Economic Science (Some eligible data - no new rights)
- ↑ Intellectual property rights policy, 24. LlyfrgelI Genedlaethol Cymru (National Library of Wales) (All eligible data - no new rights)
- ↑ Copyright, 24. Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru (National Library of Wales) (All eligible data - no new rights)
- ↑ IPR and reproduction policy, 50. Royal Pavilion Brighton Museums (All eligible data - no new rights)
- ↑ Image Requests, 60. York Museums Trust (All eligible data - no new rights)
- ↑ Terms of use, 53. Sir John Soane's Museum (All rights reserved)
- ↑ Terms of use of our website, 13. Fitzwilliam Museum (Closed licences)
