Dear Carol,

Buckinghamshire County Museum is about (Oh, dear, only 18 days to opening)
to stage it's second exhibition of work inspired by items in the
museum's collections.  The first was a single-artist watercolour show,
the new one is many artists needlework.  The collection items in both
cases were drawn from all of the museum's collections: natural history
and geology, archaeology, and social history, and art.
This is an intellectual property issue, and is covered by the British
Copyright Acts.  It is more like turning a novel into a screen-play
than photocopying a novel.  As there is no intellectual property issues
with most of the material we use for inspiration, there was no problem.
In others we felt that we owned the intellectual property along with the
object.  This is a difficult issue, as only in the last twelve months
have our transfer of title forms expressly mentioned the copyright
holder of an object, and asked the donor/seller to declare whether or
not copyright is given/sold with the object.

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           [log in to unmask] "Carol E Mayer" writes:
> collectoion.  This is the first time that an artist has approached us
> about using old pieces in a contemporary work.  The copyright act does
> not seem to cover this. { Have any of you had any similar experience - I
> would appreciate some advice.
> Thanks
> Carol E. Mayer
> CU{rator
> Museum of  Anthropology, Ubc
> Vancouver
>

--
Patricia Reynolds
Keeper of Social History, Buckinghamshire County Museum / Freelance Curator

16 Gibsons Green
Heelands
Milton Keynes
MK13 7NH
ENGLAND

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