A voluntary code of practice to ensure metadata is maintained in digital images has been drafted. Photographers and other visual artists, as well as users of images, are being asked to review it and send in their thoughts by 28 August 2013.
Improving how digital images are used
The
draft Voluntary Code of Practice follows a recommendation in
Copyright Works: Streamlining copyright licensing for the digital age, an independent report commissioned by the Government in 2012 by Richard Hooper CBE and Dr Ros Lynch.
It was identified that information stored in a digital image such as the name of the creator, the copyright owner, the image title - in other words, the metadata – is often lost when images are reproduced online.
As such, images found online can be hard to accurately identify, and those who want to use them don’t always know where to get permission or a licence, or even who to credit. Visual artists
such as photographers are therefore often not fully recognised and compensated when their work is used.
Key figures across the creative industries, from photographers to picture editors and metadata specialists, have therefore
drafted a Voluntary Code of Practice to advise both image creators and users on how to include and maintain metadata in digital images.
Currently, many online users of images don’t realise that the software they are using to resize and publish images can ‘strip’ metadata, and some creators are unaware they can save such information to an image file in the first place.
The code aims to vastly improve the way digital images are dealt with, benefitting creators and users. Its focus on maintaining licensing information in images, or licensing metadata, will make it easier for users to find out how to obtain a licence, ensuring creators are paid when due, and therefore speeding up the copyright licensing process.
Read the draft Voluntary Code of Practice.
Provide feedback on the draft code of practice
The
Copyright Licensing Steering Group (CLSG), established to oversee the delivery of the recommendations in
Copyright Works, is currently seeking feedback on the draft Code of Practice.
If you are a creator of digital images, such as an illustrator or photographer, or someone who uses images, such as an editor or picture researcher, send in your thoughts by completing
the downloadable response form.
Email your form to
[email protected] by Wednesday 28 August 2013.
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Read more news on current developments to streamline copyright licensing in the creative industries.
Image: Photographer Martin Parr © Brian Benson 2012