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Authorship, Copyright & Licenses

Authorship, Copyright & Licenses

When archiving files with DaSCH, the following legal metadata is required:

  1. Authorship denotes the original creator(s) of the file (photographer, author, artist, composer, etc.).
  2. Copyright Holder denotes who owns the rights (the individual or entity that legally controls how the file can be used). This may or may not differ from the creator.
  3. License defines the specific terms under which the file is made available. This determines what others are allowed to do with the file (view, share, modify, commercial use, etc.). The license must be authorized by the copyright holder and determines citation requirements and usage restrictions.

Determining copyright protection status: Before completing legal metadata fields, researchers must determine whether the file is protected by copyright. This fundamental assessment determines which of the following metadata guidelines are applicable. A helpful resource is CCdigitallaw's guideline WHAT... is a protected work?.

Copyright-Protected Files

Files protected by copyright require all three elements of legal metadata:

  1. Authorship: Multiple creators can be listed. Use "Author Unknown" if the creator cannot be identified, or choose from predefined options such as "AI-Generated Content" or "Public Domain".
  2. Copyright Holder: In humanities research, copyright is often held by the research project or institution. Common examples include research projects, universities, museums, libraries, archives, or the original creators.
  3. License: For copyright-protected files, the following options exist depending on creator intentions:
    • Creator grants rights to reuse.
    • Creator waives all rights.
    • Creator intent is unknown.

Creator Grants Rights to Reuse

When creators grant others the right to reuse their work, the following licenses are available in DSP:

Additional licenses can be made available in DSP if needed.

Creator Waives All Rights

When creators dedicate their work to the public domain, DaSCH recommends this statement: CC0 Universal Deed.

Unknown Creator Intentions

When copyright status is unclear or creator permissions are uncertain, use this statement: Unknown License – Contact Copyright Holder for Permission.

Non-Copyright-Protected Files

Files not protected by copyright follow these guidelines, depending on why copyright does not apply:

Public domain files (copyright has expired)

Never copyrightable files (copyright never existed)