ICA is very pleased to launch its online course ‘Introduction to Copyright for Archivists’, authored by Dr. Jean Dryden, archival consultant, scholar and recognized expert on copyright in archival materials.
This course aims to provide archivists with a deep understanding of how copyright law intersects with their core mission—acquiring, preserving, and providing access to archival materials. In this course, you will explore the fundamentals of copyright, learn how copyright laws operate on both national and international levels, and understand the role of international treaties. You will also learn about tools to assess the effectiveness of national copyright legislation, advocate for necessary legal reforms, and understand the role of strategies and policies in managing copyright risks within your organization.
It is a beginner to intermediate level course and requires learners to be familiar with the principles and practice of managing archives.
The course consists of the following nine sections:
- Course Overview: The section provides an overview of the course and how to get the most out of the online learning experience
- What is Copyright?: The section explains why archivists need to know about copyright, provides an overview of the international framework within which copyright operates, and identifies the structure and components of copyright laws
- Scope of Copyright Protection: The section covers the scope of copyright, including what is/is not protected by copyright and how copyright-protected material is organized into categories
- Rights of the Copyright Owner and the Author: The section describes the economic rights of the copyright owner and the moral rights of the author
- Ownership and Duration: The section discusses the rules for copyright ownership and how long copyright protection lasts
- Exceptions and Users Rights: The section looks at the exceptions to copyright protection, which permit archives to legally make copies to preserve their holdings and serve their users
- Advocacy for Better Copyright Laws: The section sets out the importance of advocacy for better copyright laws and suggests strategies for advocacy at the national and international levels
- Strategies for Managing Copyright in your Institution: The section discusses strategies for managing copyright in an institution to ensure that the materials are preserved and accessible for use, and risks are managed
- Wrap up: The section summarises the course, allows you to evaluate it, and download your certificate
Learning objectives
At the end of the course, you will be able to:
- Explain how copyright directly affects the archival mission to acquire and preserve our holdings and make them available for use.
- Describe how copyright laws work.
- Explain how copyright works across international borders and the importance of international treaties.
- Identify tools and sources of information that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of a nation’s copyright law.
- Advocate for changes to national copyright law, and for an international treaty.
- Recognize the need for strategies to manage copyright risk.
- Identify the policies and procedures needed to manage copyright issues in your archives.
Course characteristics
- This course is available in English and French.
- Beginner to intermediate level, it requires learners to be familiar with the principles and practice of managing archives.
- The course has 9 sections and includes videos, downloadable presentations, exercises, lists of recommended resources and quizzes for you to test your understanding.
- The exercises are optional (non-graded) and they have been developed to support you in researching and understanding copyright issues affecting the management of your archives in the particular legal context of your workplace.
- The course will take about 10 hours of study time. You have three months to complete it.
- Course materials can be downloaded on to computers, smartphones and tablets and require an internet connection.
- ICA will issue a certificate once the final assessment has been completed, provided all quizzes have been passed with 60% of the answers being correct.
Rates
- for ICA members €80
- for non-members €100
For all your questions, please contact us at training@ica.org
