Above: The Creative Commons logo is, for many, a symbol of a new way of dealing with copyright more applicable to the information era. It certainly holds out promise for museums, archives and other public repositories that hold collections in trust for the public good.
Copyright and Creative Commons
I am delighted that distinguished copyright lawyers Tobias Schonwetter and Andrew Rens will be joining Digital Imaging consultant Graeme Cookson, metadata expert, Sarah Saunders and myself in giving input at the Heritage Digital Campus to be held in Cape Town from August 17 to 21.
I met Andrew some years ago through one of our advisory board members, Dwayne Bailey of Translate.org.za. Andrew is Intellectual Property Fellow at the Shuttleworth Foundation and has initiated a number of innovative initiatives in the area of intellectual rights. Tobias has his PhD in copyright exceptions and limitations and, among other distinguished positions, is legal lead of Creative Commons South Africa. Both are sought after speakers on intellectual property issues and I believe they will be of immense assistance to participants in the 2009 Heritage Digital Campus, particularly in relation to the advent of Creative Commons licenses which I believe give the legal framework for heritage institutions to both grant access to collections held in their trust for the common good, while at the same time ensuring that the collections are not exploited.
Above: Andrew Rens was the initiator of the African Commons Project and Freedom to Innovate South Africa. Andrew is an active blogger and two of his blogs can be found here and here.
Tobias sent me an outline of what he and Andrew will be dealing with in their afternoon sessions:
What is copyright?
Copyright terms, the public domain, orphan works etc.
What happens when you digitise?
Introduction to CC licenses
How to use CC licenses
I am very excited about the star line up with have for this first Heritage Digital Campus. Those of you who have signed up for the full week and those signed up for Sarah Saunders’ course will have Tobias and Andrew’s sessions included in your training. If you have already booked and are still to pay, please be in touch with Jacqui Cook (+27-33-345-9445) as soon as possible to secure your place. If you are a government department this can be done by giving her a purchase order number. If you have not yet booked please urgently be in touch with Sue Hadcroft on +27-83-445-6042 so that she can secure your place.
Digital Picture Library Manager 