The Institute of Art & Law was happy to participate in a conference entitled Copyright and Cultural Heritage 2.0, hosted by The Scotsman and Shepherd & Wedderburn solicitors, in association with the Scottish Council on Archives. The conference took place at the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh.

On the agenda were a number of issues and challenges facing those in the cultural heritage sector, especially in relation to archives and artists’ rights. These were outlined during the first panel by Scottish Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs Fiona Hyslop, by National Records of Scotland head Tim Ellis and by Dr Irene O’Brien, Chair of the Scottish Council on Archives. The keynote speaker, author and British Copyright Council President of Honour, Maureen Duffy, gave a passionate appeal for the rights of creators, especially in the area of literary publication.

The second panel then covered some of the nitty gritty of the new UK copyright exceptions that came into force in 2014. This included IPO Director of Copyright & IP Enforcement, Ros Lynch, as well as specialist Tim Padfield and solicitor Joanna Boag-Thomson. Many questions posed by the new exceptions remain unanswered and this was made clear by Padfield and representatives from DACS, Reema Selhi and Mark Waugh.

The final panel included Ben White, Head of IP at the British Library, Cathy Williams, Head of Collections Knowledge at the National Archives, Marc Boulay, archivist at St Andrews University, and the IAL’s Alexander Herman. The panel members discussed issues directly affecting the arts sector, most notably in regards to collection management and the fair dealing exceptions.

The event was adeptly chaired by journalist and broadcaster Sheena McDonald.

The conference was part of a longer series run by The Scotsman at the National Galleries of Scotland.