Rights management

This resource provides information related to orphan works contained in the collections of publicly accessible libraries, educational establishments and museums, as well as archives, film or audio heritage institutions and public-service broadcasting organisations established in the EU member states.

This resource is a database of all the works that have been registered under the UK government’s orphan work scheme.

This resource is about what you need to know about orphan works and risk management. It explains the orphan works solutions introduced by the UK Government in 2014, and the role of risk management in a museum.

This resource gives details of changes to orphan works after Brexit.

This resource provides authoritative guidance on copyright exceptions, specific circumstances when work can be used without the need to get permission from the copyright owner.

This updated resource, details of the exceptions to copyright that allow limited use of copyright works without the permission of the copyright owner.

This resource lists and links to the rights resources created by Naomi Korn Associates.

This resource, from the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), gives information on how to get permission to copy a creative work for which the right holder(s) cannot be found (an orphan work). Click the link on the right-hand side to view the resource on the gov.uk website.

DACS (the Design and Artists Copyright Society) The Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS) is a rights management organisation that collects and distributes royalties to visual artists and their estates.

The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is the official UK government body responsible for intellectual property rights. These are: copyright, designs, trade marks and patents.

An engaging way to learn about copyright using a set of cards with the suites: ‘copyright works’, ‘usages’, ‘licenses’, and ‘exceptions’. There are versions for: the UK (including in Welsh), the USA, Canada (English and French), and Australia.

These flowcharts outline the duration of Crown and non-Crown copyright. Crown copyright covers material created by UK civil servants, ministers and government departments and agencies.

This short resource outlines how long copyright lasts for different types of work.

If your volunteers are creating work which can be copyrightable, for example, taking photography of museum objects as part of a digitisation project. It is advisable that volunteers sign a ‘Deed of assignment of copyright’ before they start their voluntary work. This resource is a template for such a deed.

The WATCH File (Writers Artists and Their Copyright Holders) is a database of copyright contacts for writers, artists, and prominent figures in other creative fields. 

This resource includes best practice steps and guidance to help heritage organisations manage copyright effectively when they work with suppliers.

This resource covers the important IPR copyright and some related rights. Included are two flowcharts which allows the determination of the duration of copyright and Crown copyright.

This resource from the Intellectual Property Office includes information and guidance regarding Intellectual Property and copyright.

This guide, co-produced by The National Archives (TNA), explains the provisions of the Data Protection Act 2018 relevant to the use of personal data in archiving (including archiving by museums).

This guide from the Information Commissioner’s Office explains the provisions of the GDPR to help organisations comply with its requirements.

This AIM Success Guide is intended for museums and other cultural organisations wanting to understand how they should be responding to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The relationship between museums and copyright can at times be complicated and requires high levels of knowledge and understanding. This article considers why copyright is an important issue for museums, galleries and other cultural heritage organisations.

This template highlights important topics for inclusion in a museum’s Copyright and IPR Policy.

The growth of the internet has provided collection holders with more opportunities to digitise, adapt, publish and share material. However, the relative ease of reproducing resources with new media means that you need to be aware of the implications for your collections.

This leaflet by the Intellectual Property Office sets out the copyright exceptions applicable to libraries, archives and museums.

The Copyright Hub provides general information about copyright, permissions required to copy, adapt, share or distribute somebody else’s creative work and guidance on protecting your own work.

This resource discusses publication and reproduction rights and links to related resources from the UK Intellectual Property Office.

In this interview Luciano Johnston, Digital Preservation Librarian at the Frick Art Reference Library, explains how the Library identified its Digital Asset Management needs and developed a DAM solution to meet them.

In this resource Kevin Bacon, Digital Development Officer for the Royal Pavilion and Museums, Brighton and Hove, discusses implementing a Museum DAMS that’s fit for purpose.

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 provides public access to information held by public authorities. Public authorities are obliged to publish certain information about their activities and members of the public are entitled to request information from public authorities.

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 provides public access to information held by public authorities. Public authorities are obliged to publish certain information about their activities and members of the public are entitled to request information from public authorities.

This series of advice sheets covers many of the basic elements which museums need to deal with in relation to the management of intellectual property rights.

This document aims to chart how a small-scale museum and gallery, Peter Scott Gallery (Live at LICA), has begun to look at a more commercial side of digitisation through licensing a selection of digital images.