Andrea Wallace

“ Once copyright expires, the work enters the public domain and is available for anyone to reuse for any purpose. [1] In this way, the public domain is a central part of the copyright bargain and its availability produces a wider benefit to society: public domain works can be reused to create new knowledge and cultural goods that enrich social welfare and invigorate the local economy. Considering these aspirations align with public missions, GLAMs around the world are in the process of updating digital remits and strategies to feature these goals for digitised public domain collections. ”

“ Licensing images of public domain works does not appear to be a present or future revenue scheme with potential for growth, and is actually a financial burden on the GLAM sector
Data strongly suggests commercial licensing services are unsustainable and have been for some time. At an individual level, (many) GLAMs bear the costs of maintaining their own commercial licensing system. In the aggregate, this amounts to significant costs expended across the sector. Providing the service incurs loss for the majority of UK GLAMs; few are profitable, and those that are, are primarily national museums. ”

“ Open access is at risk of decline or stagnation in the UK
Interviews and web-based research revealed clear evidence of decline or stagnation. Many participants noted that open access conversations are now harder with COVID-19. Some participants have had to re-defend the open access policy due to revived commercialisation desires. The research revealed many examples of digital assets that are being reassessed and even removed from websites and open access platforms to bolster exclusivity and commercialisation goals. ”

“ Because of copyright’s complicated nature, the report also provides the necessary context to appreciate the data, findings and recommendations. The UK GLAM sector currently sits at a crossroads: it can either crystallize the status quo of gatekeeping through copyright, or it can embrace open access and truly enable new societal growth and knowledge generation through digital media availability.
In the UK open GLAM space there is a lack of leadership which TaNC is well positioned to provide. ”

“ As one commented, “Open access is hard too. For something that seems simple, it’s really not.”
Participants would welcome a stance by TaNC and UKRI
Many pointed to open licensing requirements of Wellcome Collection and The National Lottery Heritage Fund as positive developments that have enabled or revived discussions around open access. The feeling was that public funding should render all outputs produced through the funding as available for public reuse. A position protecting the public domain was also seen as necessary. ”

“ These and other conditions are impacting how GLAMs commercialise digital collections. Any decision to forego licensing revenue, however small, is made more difficult by pressures from legislators and Governments to generate income, no matter the business model. As a result, GLAM staff are working under significant and increasing pressures to achieve what they can with open access with the limited support and power available to them. Participants in this research unanimously framed these conditions as significant barriers to open access goals. ”

“ Those provided by Europeana, Flickr Commons, Wikimedia Commons and Art UK can also offer flexibility and advantages that impact how open GLAM proceeds due to the systems and rights statements that shape platform participation, particularly for small organisations. 73 or 91.3% of all UK open GLAM instances rely on such organisations as a primary method of publication, with Art UK alone accounting for 47 or 58.8% of instances. ”

“ Coordinate with other UK funding bodies and associations such as Arts Council England and the National Museum Directors’ Council to advance open access adoption and to develop a shared strategy for long term support on copyright and open access. ”

“ Support the rollout of open access through a centralised support point that provides capacity building tailored to projects and problem solves across the sector, and by publishing the templates and outputs produced, such as checklists, contracts and data collaboration agreements, as public resources. ”

“ During the copyright term, the public pays the rightsholder a fee to reuse the work. The idea is that these economic benefits will incentivise creators to make new creative works, over which they will enjoy a limited monopoly from which they may profit and exert control. ”

“ A particular contribution this report seeks to make is to outline gaps that will remain unless a range of strategies and support are taken up to redirect who can access and reuse the UK’s outstanding cultural heritage collections. ”