Completions and new beginnings
March 20th, 2009 by Naomi8 months is a long time between posts, but as I am starting to wrap up a number of projects and plan ahead - I’m beginning to realise how busy the months between blogs have been. In short, the Web2Rights Project (www.web2rights.org.uk) will be finishing in just over a week. It’s been unbelievably an 18 month project and in the end, looking at what we had hoped to achieve and what we have actually achieved, I think that we have really pulled out the stops and produced some fantastic stuff. Its been such a relevation for me in working with a team with such various skill sets. So whilst, we have a core group of us IP specialists, we have been working with learning technologists and pedagogic experts - who have helped turn the conventional communication of copyright, licensing and other legal issues on its head. I’m extremely proud of what we have all achieved and the amazing team I have been working with and will be pretty excited when we present our final project deliverables at JISC Conference on Tuesday. The value of engaging with next generation technologies in our toolkits, will live on after our project formally finishes, through our website and the posters and its going to be interesting to see what happens next.
This week also sees the completion of another couple of my projects, including the delivery of the complete IPR and Licensing Toolkit for the Strategic Content Alliance, as well as the delivery of the “In from the Cold” project report on the extent and impact of orphan works on public service delivery. In these two cases, like the Web2Rights project, the real value of what we have done extends beyond the deliverables, and into full benefit realisation such as the potential impact on practice and policy.
With a number of new projects starting next month, it really is time to realise what has been achieved over the last year and the realisation of the impact of these projects, but also to gear up and get pretty excited about the new projects ahead.
Public and private spaces
July 22nd, 2008 by NaomiMy apparent quietness belies a period of frantic activity with a number of projects concluding and others opening up. These include the JISC funded Web2Rights project www.web2rights.org.uk which completed on 30 June..but has subsequently been extended for another 9 months, this time to extend the functionality of the project’s deliverables, continue to provide JISC’s Users and Innovations Projects with support, as well as extend into other legal issues. JISC Legal are on board , as well as our eclectic team of copyright specilialists, technologists and pedagogic experts.
I’ve also just finished a fifteen month project for a National Museum, and with another six month project just starting, I’m quite delighted to be able to map over instantly some lessons learnt.
I’ve been out and about as well and with a new born in the house, it gives me plenty of opportunity between and during feeds to intellectualise a bit and let marinate some of the exciting things going on. I’ve been particularly struck by discussions with Peter Burnhill from EDINA at the JISC Innovation Forum meeting at Keele and his description of Web2 changing everything by encouraging dialogue between peer, but beyond the safety of private spaces, and instead the issues that arise that these spaces are now “public” (blogs like this one, being good examples)!!!
During the course of Web2Rights Phase ” - we will be looking at these issues within teaching, learning and research environments.
The number of EC copyright-related consultations is insane…my emphasis has been very much the EC Green Paper on the Knowledge Economy and copyright as well as the proposals to extend the duration of copyright in sound recordings and performers’ rights. Both have the potential for fundamental ramifications across the public sector and I’ve been advising my clients accordingly.
More from me again soon
Naomi
Copyright pushes and pulls
April 2nd, 2008 by NaomiI’ve been in full flow before the responses to the Gowers Copyright Consultation are due in (8th April and counting) and in recent days I have been working with various clients to help them get their submissions in on time, as well as working with various smaller organisations across the public sector to bring the consulatation to their attention and try and galvanise a last push for broader exceptions for the public sector. I am mindful that we are not going to necessary win this time round (because it really does feel a bit like we have gone into *battle* mode particularly over the last few days), but instead, and perhaps differently than before, we are really beginning to stake our very important mark on the landscape that is the Knowledge Economy. It becomes a lot more than just closing our eyes “and hoping for the best” (as an old boss of mine liked to say), but instead this time, one of real positioning, setting the agenda and making sure that collectively, we raise our voices. Exciting times ahead and I am just blown away by the support of all the smaller organisations across the public sector, how much they want to be involved, but also how much better informed now they are than they were a few years ago. What is shocking, and I am always reminded by this (as I was at a recent training course that I ran last week in Worcester) is the totally unacceptable level of risk that these organisations have to face to in order to act in the public interest. This has to change.
So, what happens if the next stage of the consultation does not offer enough redress to the various organisations across the public sector…we keep on pushing, making our case, and raising awareness (and our collective voices). The pull is that if we want to maximise the impact and contribution to society, education and culture of our research institutions, places of learning, centres of excellence and cultural heritage organisations - copyright cannot continue to be (or be viewed as) an obstacle, a risk or a drain on resources. It must instead be logical, understandable and fair. This will create a wonderful cycle of respect - the more we can make sense of copyright and the fair dealing exceptions in particular, the more it makes sense. Wham bam, we have moved a step closer to resolving the secondary consequence of out-of-touch laws, that of a whole generation of those who believe that copyright is intrinsically wrong.
Copyright mutterings
March 26th, 2008 by NaomiFor my first post on my new blog, I’m not going to provide profound words of wisdom, but rather just tell it how it is. I hope that I can maintain this vein of reporting back, and work permitting, use these entries to keep a record of issues that I come across, thoughts that occur to me and also a log of what I spend my working (and sometimes dreaming!) time on).
Today, I’ve been working on a range of projects which highlight in my mind the fragility of many public sector bodies in terms of owning and using stuff creating by other people. Copyright exceptions by and large don’t measurably apply (or in some cases, don’t apply at all) and in terms of helping them do what they need to do, they are pretty much stuffed. On another level, I heard of one cultural heritage organisation today, (call them Museum A) who is being sued for putting a photograph up on their website which they were given by a third party in all good faith. Museum A was contacted by the photographer and told to take the photograph down (which they did immediately), but despite this, the photographer is going after them big time. In so many ways, museums in particular are just stymied on every front…
So, what can I do to make a difference? In the scale of things, its a bit like taking a small gem stone pick axe and trying to carve out a tunnel…but, today, I have been putting the finishing touches on a number of submissions to the big UK-IPO Proposed Extensions to the Copyright Consulation - I am not holding out huge amounts of hope that any of our collective submissions will make a whole lot of difference this time, but certainly, I believe that we are, perhaps for the first time articulating the *real* issues and obstacles that public sector organisations are faced with in terms of providing access to stuff which they don’t own the rights, how hetrogeneous institutions working across the public sector are and the range of our contributions to the UK’s Knowledge Economy. It’s also about positioning and carrying through momentum and maybe, things will change if not now but soon….its also about hope and realising (and communicating) the value of what public sector bodies are doing…
More from me soon
Naomi
