Copyright when sharing data with Europeana - introducing a new webinar series

Sharing data with Europeana comes with the obligation to assign the digital object a rights statement. This is a piece of information in the metadata which describes the extent to which someone can use the digital object. While this may sound like a simple step, it often raises many questions that need to be answered to make the correct choice.

A dedicated Copyright page on Europeana Pro offers help and guidance to our data partners selecting a rights statement, but we are also excited to announce a new series of webinars which will further help our data partners and cultural heritage institutions navigate the topic of copyright when submitting data to Europeana.

These will take place throughout the autumn and winter of 2020-2021. The webinars were developed in collaboration with the Europeana Aggregators' Forum (EAF), the Europe-wide network of data partners enabling cultural heritage institutions to share their content with Europeana and open it up to new audiences.  Topics were selected through conversations with individual aggregators and the EAF Steering Group, and will focus on the frameworks and standards which Europeana and data partners work with. We will dive into some key questions regarding managing copyright in cultural heritage institutions, and share relevant examples and best practices. The webinars are open to all, including professionals from institutions which do not share data with Europeana.

Topics and speakers

A webinar on 'Rights in digital objects & structured rights information at Europeana' will kick off the series in September. Maša Škrinjar and Ariadna Matas will explain how the copyright status of a collection item relates to the process of choosing a rights statement, license or tool; present the standardised tools that Europeana works with; walk the audience through how to use these and important aspects to note; and showcase these processes through relevant examples. Watch the recording of this webinar.

Our second webinar in October will be led by Naomi Korn, founder and managing director of Naomi Korn Associates, who will walk the audience through 'Clearing rights in collection items'. Naomi will talk about the layers of rights that need to be considered before making content available online, and will demonstrate the good practice and approaches that she has contributed to developing. This webinar is likely to be followed by a second one planned for January. Watch the recording of this webinar.

After having set the scene around how to choose a rights statement and clear rights, in November we will move to a less legal, but very relevant conversation: 'Opening up: approaches from cultural heritage institutions across Europe'. Karin Glasemann, Digital Coordinator at the Nationalmuseum Sweden, Andrea Wallace, Lecturer in Law at the University of Exeter, and Evelin Heidel, OpenGlam advocate, from the Europeana Copyright community steering group, will share their experiences and thoughts on existing open access models, their impact, and the role that open access can play for cultural heritage institutions. Watch the recording of this webinar.

In December, Paul Keller, independent advisor, Public Space, will walk us through 'The copyright directive: new approaches to the public domain and to out of commerce works'. This webinar will highlight key opportunities the directive presents for the cultural heritage sector, explore the approach that some member states are taking during the implementation, and what to watch out for in the context of your institution, and when sharing data with Europeana. Watch the recording of this webinar.

Stay tuned for more details on the Europeana events page and the Copyright Community.