Digitization of Audiovisual Materials by Heritage Institutions: Models for Licences and Compensations

Abstract:     
The digitization and distribution of audiovisual material raises major copyright problems. While digitizing for preservation purposes has been permitted since 2004 under strict conditions in accordance with Art. 16n of the Dutch Copyright Act, for the reutilisation of digitized material (e.g. on websites or by means of retransmission by radio or television) permission must be sought and obtained from large numbers of claimants. For large digitization projects, such as Beelden voor de Toekomst (Images for the Future), this means a rights clearance operation of dizzying proportions. In addition, digitization projects face great uncertainty with regard to the level of the copyright license fees due. As a result, questions arise as to how the problem of rights management can be efficiently solved and on which basis a reasonable fee may be calculated, taking into account the rights of right-holders to reasonable remuneration and the interest of public heritage institutions and the general public in an optimally complete, accessible and affordable digital archive. These two questions are central in this research.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 6

Accepted Paper Series