Copyright Management in Museums: Expediency or Necessity?

Abstract

Although the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the temporary closure of cultural institutions is not propitious, there are some opportunities for museums. In fact, the crisis may represent an incentive for change. One of the crucial issues in this crisis is the matter of copyright management in museum collections. Copyright is a valuable asset for organisations, on which the possibility of using artworks depends: without the regulated legal status of the work’s authorship, it is not possible to use the work’s copy and share it via electronic media, for example. Today’s crisis is an opportunity to shift perspectives and propose or even enforce new, more strategic solutions instead of mere short-term stopgaps. The aim of this paper is to answer the following questions: Is implementing copyright-management strategies a temporary need or a necessity? I do not wish to advocate for copyright reform but instead to examine what actions we need to take to formulate and implement copyright-management strategies. This topic will be discussed by drawing on the case study of the Polish History Museum to better explain the phenomenon in question (Stake 1995). The Polish History Museum is creating its first permanent exhibition, and it is the first institution in Poland to develop a copyright-management strategy for its collections. Having analysed interviews as well as secondary sources, I will answer additional questions. What were the stages in the open-policy formulation process? What procedures and organisational changes have been introduced in the museum? What are the current benefits and dangers of implementing copyright-management strategies? I will also discuss legal issues to provide a better understanding of copyright’s potential as a valuable and immaterial resource of museums. Although the analysed case is Polish, it presents examples of implementing copyright-management strategies that may inspire other museums, including those based abroad.