1	Oral history and copyright Museums Copyright Group 27 January 2006 Cynthia Brown
2	Aims provide an overview of copyright law as it applies to oral history recordings consider some of the practical and ethical issues that might arise around copyright in collecting oral histories and making them available to the public
3	UK copyright law and oral history recordings Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (1988) Amended by: Broadcasting Acts 1990 and 1996 Copyright etc. and Trade Marks Act 2002 Copyright (Visually Impaired Persons) Act 2002 statutory instruments required to implement European Commission directives
4	Duration of copyright Recordings made since 1 August 1989 70 years after the end of the year in which the speaker died or dies Different provisions apply to recordings made before 1 August 1989 see guidance from the Oral History Society at www.ohs.org.uk/ethics/
5	Ownership of copyright in an oral history recording Two copyrights: in the words spoken – owned by the speaker(s) in the recording itself - owned by the individual who made the recording, or the organisation on whose behalf the recording was made both can be assigned or bequeathed (as a form of property)
6	Scope of copyright Recorded speech and recordings ‘in copyright’ may not be: copied - strictly speaking, this includes ‘conservation’ copying, but in practice… ‘issued to the public’, eg publications, exhibitions, websites performed or played in public broadcast without copyright owner’s permission
7	Consequences of ‘unauthorised use’ of copyright recordings the copyright owner may sue copies of any publications including copyright material may be liable to seizure your personal reputation, or that of your organisation, may be seriously compromised
8	Securing ‘informed consent’ ‘Informed’ means clarity about the purposes for which the recording may be used, e.g. in publications, including print, CD ROM use in educational establishments public performance, lectures, or talks use on radio or TV use on the Internet
9	Forms of consent Written consent using a form designed for the purpose (see http://www.le.ac.uk/emoha/training/no4.pdf for an example) Verbal consent acceptable (e.g. for visually impaired people, non-literate interviewees) but it needs to be RECORDED, e.g at the end of the interview recording
10	The timing of consent ‘Informed’ consent: cannot be given in advance of the interview preferably secured at end of interview but interviewee may need time to reflect/to listen to the recording first
11	Restrictions – how far should you go? Interviewees may want to restrict the use of all or part of their interview for a certain period of time (maximum recommended period = 30 years) until after they die (how will you know?) on condition that you ask them for permission when you want to use any part of the recording (is this practical?) on condition that you edit out specific sections before making the recording available to the public
12	Moral rights Under the Copyright Act 1988, oral history interviewees have the right: to be named as the ‘author’ of their words, unless they specify otherwise include option of anonymity on consent form not to have their words subjected to ‘derogatory treatment’, e.g. by editing, alterations or adaptations that change their context and create a false impression
13	Other relevant legislation Law of defamation untrue or harmful statements Data protection does not apply to interviewing and keeping interviews for research but reinforces the need for permission before making public information from which they may be identified Freedom of Information unlikely to affect current practice on access to recordings confidentiality overrides public right of access
14	Practical scenarios (1) You record an interview with someone who then declines to sign a copyright consent form… What can you do?
15	Practical scenarios (2) One of your volunteers records a lengthy interview with someone who came to Britain in 1972 from Uganda. He signs the copyright consent after the interview – but after listening to the recording, he wants to withdraw his consent… What can you do?
16	Practical scenarios (3) A local society offers you copies of interviews conducted with anti-Poll Tax campaigners in the 1990s – but they have no copyright consent… Will you accept their offer?
17	Ethical scenarios (1) You have a recording with full copyright consent in which the interviewee describes a former teacher as ‘a miserable little man who hated children’. The teacher is not named… Would you have any reservations about making this publicly available?
18	Ethical scenarios (2) You have a series of interviews with members of the British Union of Fascists in the early 1930s. These have full copyright clearance, but include comments that might be construed now as ‘racist’... Will you make these available to the public?
19	Ethical scenarios (3) In the course of an interview, someone tells you in confidence about a criminal act that they committed in the past… What should you do?
20	Copyright and oral history observe the law make realistic decisions about accepting material for deposit without copyright consent or with restrictions be aware of some of the issues that may arise around the content of recordings and their subsequent use
21	Further information Oral History Society Copyright and Ethics website section www.ohs.org.uk/ethics OHS Regional Network http://www.ohs.org.uk/network/ East Midlands Oral History Society Copyright Information Sheet http://www.le.ac.uk/emoha/training/no4.pdf
22	Contact details Cynthia Brown Workforce Development Officer East Midlands Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (EMMLAC) [email protected] 0116 285 1370