Framework for a EU wide Audiovisual Orphan Works Registry

EVA / MINERVA Conference, Jerusalem, 8-9 NOV 2015 Kerstin Herlt, Association of European Film Archives

Co-funded by the Community

programme ICT-PSP

• A TOOL TO ASSESS THE RIGHTS OF AV WORKS (READY IN 2016)

• A REGISTRY FOR ORPHAN FILMS

• A PILOT PROJECT initiated by ACE and funded by the EU

• CARRIED OUT BY 13 partners, with a focus on FILM HERITAGE

WHAT IS FORWARD?

WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?

ACE SURVEY on ORPHAN FILMS 2010

ACE SURVEY on ORPHAN FILMS 2010

Production period (orphan works)

WHAT‘S THE PROBLEM?

• Hundreds of thousands of films with unknown rights status

• A large part are considered ORPHAN

• Lack of reliable information to clear rights

• Lack of resources to identify rights holders

Rights Situation in Europe’s FHI

if you do not know whom to ask for permission, a user cannot make use of the work, without infringing copyright. invest

considerable resources to locate the rights owner

WHAT‘S THE PROBLEM WITH OW?

Copyright Infringement

High Costs

FORWARD AIMS TO PROVIDE CLEAR COPYRIGHT STATUS

? ORPHAN

What makes it complicated?

• FORWARD system builds on different copyright legislations (10 Film Heritage Institutions = 10 copyright laws)

• EU Orphan Works Directive Dilligent Search Guidelines

LEGAL DECISION TREE – Establish Copyright Status for a Film made in NL

Key points of the EU Orphan Works Directive

FHI has

Work

wish to reuse

allowed uses?

What ?

• public mission inst.

• hold the work • can make use of

the OW

• Diligent Search • Producer’s country • Data source

• Preservation • Making

Available ( • Non-

commercial • Cinematographic

audiovisual works

across the EU EU • Diligent Search • Producer’s country • Data sources

Sources for a Diligent Search (AV)

• Diligent Search • Producer’s country • Data source

… transposed into national Orphan Works Legislation

FORWARD WORKFLOW DILIGENT SEARCH

Specifics of the AV sector

many authors: at least four, so the diligent search

must be repeated n-

times.

lack of national

registry, many sources in

each country,

Feeding missing data

in some cases entered

manually

The DS must be tailored on

national legislations

FORWARD architecture

Summary of FORWARD goals

FO

RWARD

GOALS

Rights status

assessment

tool

Support

Diligent

Searches

Reduce

costs to clear

rigths

More films

with clear

rights

indication

Help FHI to

implement

OWD Build a

registry of AV

Orphan Works

FORWARD (via ACE)

• Monitors the implementation the Orphan Works Directive (OWD) in the Member States

• Coordinates with OHIM (EU Orphan Works Database)

WHAT ELSE ?

WHAT ELSE ?

Statistics OHIM Database

Countries with orphan works registered in database Total = 11

Orphan Work database records = Total 1352 Orphan AV Works = 733

Countries with no orphan works registered in database Total = 20

September 2015

Source: Office for the Harmonisation in the Internal Market

EXPECTED FORWARD BENEFITS

Time saving

Flexible, adaptable to different legal frameworks

Facilitate rights information management

Copyright status identification

Registry of AV Orphan Works

forward@cinematek.be www.project-forward.eu

Contact:

ace@deutsches-filminstitut.de

forward@cinematek.be

www.project-forward.eu