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 The “WIPO Guide on Managing Intellectual Property for Museums” by Rina Elster
Pantalony, a Canadian expert on these issues, recognizes the important role
that IP plays in providing access to collections, and in preserving and managing
the valuable works they contain.
The Guide is commissioned by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), to help
the museums use the Intellectual Property (IP) system to improve the management of
their collections in the digital environment, a press release by the
Organization stated.
According to the Guide's executive summary, it says that copyright and trademark law in particular are of growing importance to
museums in fulfilling their mandates and meeting users’ needs. Effective
management of Intellectual Property Rights will enable museums to harness the
Internet as an educational and communications tool.
In the digital age, the cultural heritage community is increasingly faced
with the responsibility of managing its own IP, as well as managing uses by
third parties and users throughout the world, often on diminishing budgets.
Effective use of the IP system allows museums to meet international standards of
best practice, and can offer significant opportunities to leverage their
goodwill, authenticity, uniqueness and scholarly expertise to generate a return
on investment.
The first part of the Guide describes IP issues of relevance to museums such
as rights in scholarly content, technologies developed in-house, and branding
tools that provide recognition and awareness of the museum in a commercial
context. It also sets out recommended best practices in managing IP to enable a
museum to identify its IP, understand its rights in using its collections, and
strengthen its ability to deal with critical IP issues as they arise.
The second part of the Guide reviews existing business models that could
provide museums with appropriate opportunities to create sustainable funding,
and deliver on their stated objectives.
Click here to read the full guide.(PDF)
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