Reply to Open Culture UK

Dear Rufus

Re: Open Letter from Free Culture UK

I promised to get back to you on behalf of the Creative Archive Licence Group. We are grateful that you have considered how the project can be improved to increase the value of the Archive to the British public. I’ll take your recommendations in the order you present them.

1. UK-only restriction

The BBC’s pilot has been restricted to the UK both for regulatory reasons and because we agreed with rights stakeholders to set limits to this trial. However, all the CALG members are in agreement with you that, in the longer term, it will not be feasible to restrict the UK Creative Archive to the UK public. Nor, indeed, would it be to the benefit of the UK public to do so. We have had a number of representations about this issue from all parts of the world and will be addressing it urgently at the end of the BBC pilot. Winning the support of underlying rights holders will also be crucial, and we will be seeking non-UK distribution partners who can develop an international business model that supports all our interests.

2. Adoption of a Creative-Commons licence

Creative Commons was a big influence on the development of the Creative Archive licence. As you know, Larry Lessig was one of our advisors. However, we concluded that there was an important distinction to be made between – on the one hand - individual artists/creators who wish to share their work, and – on the other - broadcasting/archive organisations who wish to share the content they partly own but wholly manage. In particular, we need to ensure that underlying rights holders are respected (see clause 2.2.5) and that the reputation of the organisation and the contributors is protected (see clause 2.1).
The licence is still in pilot form and will be reviewed and improved at regular intervals. It is also one of our objectives to revise the licence to ensure, if possible, that it is interoperable with Creative Commons.

3. Release of material under the least restrictive licence possible

You raise the example of some of the BFI material being public domain. This may be the case in their original film format. However, there is some uncertainty about this and this status may not necessarily apply to the format in which they are delivered via the web. The BFI will keep this issue under review. Channel 4 operates on the least restrictive licence possible.

4. Making available ‘non-programme material’

Rushes and stock shots could indeed be very valuable to some users. The BBC has already released some of these in its pilot, and the other members of the Creative Archive Licence Group are comfortable with providing this ancillary content where it is available.

5. Removal of the non-commercial restriction

The non-commercial restriction is very important assurance to the industry that the Creative Archive will complement rather than undermine existing business to business markets. One of our aims is to help develop a mass market in the use of audio visual and sound material, and we believe that market will be served both by suppliers of free content and by those who will charge a fee. We are confident that the overall market impact of the Creative Archive will be positive rather than negative, and that commercial suppliers will also see a benefit in making a proportion of their archive freely available under its terms.

6. All work available in open formats

Our current policy is to make the content available in the formats which provide access for the greatest number. Where this includes proprietary formats, we are prepared to include them on a non-exclusive basis. However, it is true that availability in an open format as well would be more consistent with the concept of the Creative Archive. We will look at developments in this area (including the proposed BBC open Dirac format) with interest.

As I explained in my earlier email, a great deal of Creative Archive content is likely to be constructed around a tapestry of underlying rights which need to be re-negotiated if they are to be made available under the Creative Archive Licence. Therefore, securing the active support and involvement of rights holders (and of the organisations which represent them) is central to the Creative Archive strategy and its roll out.

Finally, to remind your readers, please note that for the BBC the Creative Archive is firmly locked into the new (but as yet untried) Public Value Test. This has meant that we have imposed limitations to our pilot phase that we may not propose for a full service. Your readers may like to know that the BBC pilot concludes at the end of September, when we submit our plans to the Governors or the new BBC Trust.

With best wishes

Paul Gerhardt
Co-ordinator
Creative Archive Licence Group