[NHCOLL-L:93] copyright issues

[Dieter Wilken]

The issue of copyrighting specimens and their images does indeed have
serious implications, especially to the scientific community and to those
who use museum collections. I am not familiar with copyright laws, here or
elsewhere (e.g. United Kingdom). 

However, as Director of Research, hence the Herbarium, at the Santa Barbara
Botanic Garden, I take the position that our collections, although privately
owned by a non-profit privately funded institution, should be fully
accessible to the "public", without a "surcharge" on use of the information
obtained from such specimens. I believe that such collections are held in
public trust and thus the information should be "freely" available to those
who have a legitimate need for such information. 

I accept the necessity for certain "surcharges" for use, including
facilities, staff time, and expendable materials (e.g., printing of database
reports). However, I can not accept that a "specimen" "belongs" exclusively
to an institution, especially when an institution derives some or all of its
income from government agencies, may accept funds from individuals who
support the advanecement of knowledge, may have obtained many specimens from
public lands, and has "pledged" to maintain collections for scientific and
educational purposes.

I support Sally Shelton's "call for discussion". The "privatiziation" of
collections is indeed a serious issue that has many implications to
scientific progress and also to its application in resource management and
conservation.

Dieter Wilken, Ph.D.
Director of Research
Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
1212 Mission Canyon Road
Santa Barbara, CA   93105
dwilken at sbbg.org

> ----------
> From: 	Sally Shelton
> Reply To: 	Shelton.Sally at NMNH.SI.EDU
> Sent: 	Thursday, April 15, 1999 3:48 AM
> To: 	nhcoll-l at lists.yale.edu
> Subject: 	[NHCOLL-L:90] Copyright issues
> 
> Posted by Lynn Kimsey.
> 
> In 1998 the Natural History Museum (London) instituted a new
> regulation regarding its collections, which prohibits the image
> recording of any of its specimens or specimen label data by
> photography  or digital imaging, unless an institutional
> permission statement was signed and fees paid every time
> the image was used. The Museum is  in essence declaring that the
> museum holds copyright to each specimen and associated data.
> 
> The permission document is as follows:
> 
> *****************************************
> COPYRIGHT DECLARATION
> 
> I undertake, if required, to provide the Natural History Museum
> with copies of all photographs or electronic images that I take
> of Natural History Museum specimens and their labels.
> 
> I cede Copyright and Publication Right in all such photographs
> or electronic images of specimens, labels and associated data
> belonging to the Natural History Museum to the Trustees of the
> said Museum.
> 
> I will obtain written permission from the Natural History Museum
> and pay the required fee before any such photograph or image
> is reproduced or copies in any way, including digital scanning.
> 
> ************************ 
> On the face of it one can see a certain legitimacy in this policy
> for commercial collection use. All of us have addressed this
> kind of use in different ways. However, the implication that one
> can copyright specimens and specimen data has much broader
> legal implications which can do some serious damage to scientific
> research and specimen accesss.
> 
> I think this issue needs some serious international discussion.
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> Lynn S. Kimsey
> Director
> Center for Biosystematics
> Bohart Museum of Entomology
> University of California
> Davis, CA 95616 USA
> 
> 
Dieter Wilken, Ph.D.
Director of Research
Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
1212 Mission Canyon Road
Santa Barbara, CA   93105
dwilken at sbbg.org