Copyright and digital cultural heritage

Copyright raises relevant questions for those who work with or otherwise use digital cultural heritage: how do you legally share collections online and support their reuse? How can you deal with legal risk? How are legal and policy changes shaping this area? 

The Europeana Initiative offers free, up-to-date and expert guidance, resources, standards, webinars and an active community for all professionals who work with copyright in the cultural heritage sector. Explore these below.  

Training

Learn and test your knowledge on copyright and the use of rights statements.

Tools and knowledge

Access resources and documentation on topics which support cultural heritage professionals to build understanding of copyright in relation to digital cultural heritage.

Recommendations on copyright and its role in the digital transformation of the cultural heritage sector
Title:
Exterieur van de bibliotheek van de Humboldtuniversiteit te Berlijn
Date:
c.1890 - c.1910
Institution:
Rijksmuseum
Country:
Netherlands

Recommendations on copyright and its role in the digital transformation of the cultural heritage sector

During the German Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Europeana held a conference to explore the copyright challenges the cultural heritage sector faces as it embraces its digital transformation. Read the report.

Standards for rights information

We support the use of Creative Commons Licences and Tools, and through the Rights Statements Consortium, we offer additional tools to standardise the way you communicate rights information about online collections.

Open access

We advocate for open access through our policies and frameworks, and encourage you to open your collections up for reuse. Learn about the benefits of removing barriers to reuse and explore the experiences of other institutions.

Copyright Directive

Gain an understanding of recent and upcoming legal and policy changes in the European Union and your country.

Network and communities

Join our vibrant Copyright Communityto engage, collaborate and transfer knowledge with peers and experts working on copyright and digital cultural heritage.

Out of Commerce works Working Group
Title:
Helsingin rautatieasema, perspektiivipiirustus keskushallista, 1913
Creator:
Saarinen, Eliel
Institution:
Museum of Finnish Architecture
Country:
Finland
Working Group 20 April 2022

Out of Commerce works Working Group

This Working Group provides a space to exchange information and recommend approaches to successfully use the legal solution to make out of commerce works available online.

Events

Register for upcoming events which support cultural heritage professionals to gain new skills and knowledge.

Copyright office hours on licenses, labels, statements and tools
Title:
Clocks: Richard Greene's museum at Lichfield, showing the "Lichfield" clock, two men discussing it. Engraving, 1748, after H. White.
Creator:
Henry White
Institution:
Wellcome Collection
Country:
United Kingdom
25 April 2023
17:00 — 18:00 Online

Copyright office hours on licenses, labels, statements and tools

Join this copyright office hours session to discuss licences, labels, statements and tools such as those from Creative Commons and Rights Statements in digital cultural heritage, with peers and experts in the copyright community.

Copyright office hours on artificial intelligence
Title:
Clocks: Richard Greene's museum at Lichfield, showing the "Lichfield" clock, two men discussing it. Engraving, 1748, after H. White.
Creator:
Henry White
Institution:
Wellcome Collection
Country:
United Kingdom
16 May 2023
13:00 — 14:00 Online

Copyright office hours on artificial intelligence

Join this copyright office hours session to discuss artificial intelligence: using digital cultural heritage for machine learning, and generative artificial intelligence, with peers and experts in the copyright community.

Webinars

Learn from various useful and successful approaches to clearing rights and to managing copyright in a cultural heritage institution.

News

Keep up to date with policy and practice around copyright and digital cultural heritage.

Announcing the 2023 copyright and policy office hours
Title:
Clocks: Richard Greene's museum at Lichfield, showing the "Lichfield" clock, two men discussing it. Engraving, 1748, after H. White.
Creator:
Henry White
Institution:
Wellcome Collection
Country:
United Kingdom

Announcing the 2023 copyright and policy office hours

Created: 3 March 2023

The Europeana Copyright Community’s ‘Copyright office hours’ offer you a space to ask questions about copyright and digital cultural heritage, get inspired by other approaches and share your knowledge. Find out more and join the next round of sessions! 

Discover the review of the Orphan Works Directive
Title:
Jazzóra II. Budapesti Téli Tánctanfolyamon
Creator:
Tone Stojko szlovén fotóművész
Date:
1986
Institution:
Fortepan
Country:
Hungary

Discover the review of the Orphan Works Directive

Created: 24 February 2023

The Orphan Works Directive, adopted in 2012, sought to facilitate the making available online of materials whose rights holders are difficult to identify or locate. Find out about the results of a recent review of the Directive and the alternative solution available.  

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