Since 2008, the Alliance has created a range of products and tools to support the management of orphan works (works for which the rightsholder is unknown or cannot be traced) in response to concerns raised by stakeholders on the issue. To aid clarity and discoverability of the tools we have presented them in this section, with a short explanation of how these can be used within your organisation.
The question of how to manage orphan works has remained high on the strategic agenda of many museums, libraries, archives, universities and colleges and other organisations across the UK who own a vast range of creative works from artworks to manuscripts to academic research. Many of these works are ‘in copyright’ and often, the copyright is owned by third parties, such as the artist themselves, their heirs, representatives or other third parties. These works include those which have a high commercial value, such as fine art and commercial films and others, which are of negligible commercial value but high academic, cultural and historic worth eg documentary photographs, amateur films, letters and sound recordings.
In order to use these works, and provide access to them, organisation have to effectively manage the associated rights and permissions of these works.
The tools provided here aim to explain and offer practical advice on a sometimes very complex issue as well as raising awareness of the problem. Through providing enhanced understanding on this issue, it hoped that we help to limit the number of orphan works being created daily.
Please note that within each of products below, other sources of information and advice are also cited.
RESEARCH
In from the Cold: An assessment of the scope of ‘orphan works’ and its impact on the delivery of services to the public
This report undertaken by the Strategic Content Alliance and the Collections Trust, shows that millions of so-called ‘orphan works’ – photographs, recordings, texts and other ephemera from the last 100 years – risk becoming invisible because rights holders are not known or easy to trace. The report was commissioned to find the scale and impact of ‘orphan works’ on public service delivery. Over 500 organisations took part in the online survey to establish the impact of orphan works across the museums, archives, libraries and universities.
Download the report as a pdf: http://sca.jiscinvolve.org/wp/files/2009/06/sca_colltrust_orphan_works_v1-final.pdf
BRIEFING PAPERS
Managing Orphan works
Subsequent to the recent developments and the current lack of legal certainty for the use of orphan works, organisations need to understand their choices regarding orphan works in their collections and ensure that their procedures are as effective as possible in the use and preventing the creation of orphan works of the future.
This briefing paper provides an overview of some of the actions that organisation might consider when encountering orphan works and/or preventing orphan works
Download: Managing orphan works briefing paper March 2011 v1-02
TEMPLATES
Template Notice and Take Down Policy and Procedure
This template ‘Notice and Take Down Policy and Procedure’ should be used to ensure that your organisation can manage operationally and in accordance with your internal governance framework, the removal of content from your website. This policy and procedure maybe brought to bear in instances of potential infringements of rights, as part of your organisation’s risk management procedures.
Download: Template Notice Take Down Policy and Procedure March 2011 v1-02
AWARENESS RAISING
Orphan works poster
This A3, downloadable poster aims to explains the IPR position for organisations dealing with orphan works and also advice on how they can prevent more orphan works being created. It attempts to explain and offer practical advice on a complex issue as well as raising awareness of the problem.
This poster can be printed and displayed within your organisations’ offices, libraries, reading and meeting rooms to help staff and students understand some of the issues surrounding orphan works or simply act as an aide memoire. If you have a printer and colleagues and/or staff that need to know more about orphan works, this poster may be a convenient way of learning more!
Download the poster: http://sca.jiscinvolve.org/wp/files/2011/03/Orphan-Works-Poster_Low.pdf
COMING SOON
Supported Learning E-learning Module
The Orphan Works and Risk Management learning object has been designed to support your understanding of orphan works and Risk Management. This is a portable learning object which can be used as is, or adapted and customised to suit organisational needs and requirements.
Risk Assessment Template
Content creators and content users across the public sector are likely to encounter a range of IPR-related risks associated with the creation and use of print and online teaching materials. The scale of rights issues will vary in accordance with the scope of each project. However, even projects involving relatively small amounts of content may encounter complex rights issues. This tool helps you to record how these risks might be potentially evaluated and mitigated.