Deliverable 2.3: Legal comparative analysis evaluation

This Deliverable (D2.3) analyses licensing models that cultural heritage institutions (hereafter ‘CHIs’) can rely on to obtain the necessary rights from relevant copyright rightsholders to digitize and display their collections online. Since CHIs are often not the rightsholders of the shared works, they are required to obtain authorization from rightsholders (if the works are protected by copyright or related rights), unless they can rely on applicable exceptions or limitations.

The process of obtaining the necessary scope of rights remains burdensome, complex and costly for CHIs. The obligation to acquire the authorization, at times even on an individual basis, may negatively affect the daily operations of CHIs. In fact, many CHIs struggle to stay connected with their audience in the Digital Single Market (hereafter ‘DSM’). To continue to be relevant and fulfil their core mission of promoting access to culture, they are encouraged to share their collections online. This need was especially evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whereas CHIs may have previously established a licensing agreement with the relevant rightsholders and acquired the right to display the works ‘offline’, the underlying license may not cover potential re-uses, preventing  CHIs from digitizing the works and sharing them online.