Public Domain Day 2024
On January 1st of every year, new heritage works enter the public domain. However, oftentimes these works can still end up being inaccessible to the public, despite the fact that, legally speaking, nothing should prevent public access. In order to share experiences and best practices in opening up this material, we co-organise the annual Public Domain Day. In 2024, we will celebrate the public domain on 7 March, with numerous partners, local and international. We will use this day to discuss inspiring developments and use cases from Belgium and will take a look at the public domain through a European lens.
What is the public domain?
The public domain is the collection of all creative works that are not (or no longer) subject to exclusive intellectual property rights, such as copyright and neighbouring rights. Every year, new works enter the public domain because in many countries, copyright protections expire 70 years after the death of the author or artist.
The legal status does not mean that this material is also automatically accessible. During the Public Domain Day, we will take a closer look at the legal, financial, technical and institutional barriers that prevent the public from accessing this content even after copyright protection expires and discuss how those barriers can be overcome.
Image credit: Twee vrouwen, by Henri-Francois Ramah, Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens collection, artinflanders.be, photo: Cedric Verhelst, public domain.
Would the public domain day be interesting to you?
Do you work in a GLAM organisation and are you curious about what actions you can pursue to open up your public domain collections, and become part of the international, ever-growing openGLAM movement? Public Domain Day is an ideal time to get inspired. Are you a Flemish or European policymaker who would like to learn more about the public domain and the many challenges that exist in this context? We would be very happy to have you! We will take a look at the public domain from both a Belgian and a European perspective, together with numerous (international) partners, so everyone is welcome.
Practical information
Join us on 7 March 2024 at KBR (Kunstberg 28, 1000 Brussels). The day is split into 2 parts, for which you can register separately. The morning session will be in Dutch, French or English, depending on the speaker (slides will always be available in English). The afternoon will be held exclusively in English.
It is no longer possible to register for Public Domain Day 2024.
Programme
Morning
In the morning, we will start with a short rights workshop. We will discuss some core questions such as: What is the public domain? Why is it important? And above all: what can you do with it? Then, during a showcase, you will discover the latest developments concerning public domain collections in Belgium, and get inspired by examples of reuse of public domain material. Finally, we will host the award ceremony of the Wiki Loves Heritage photo competition.
Partners: Royal Library of Belgium (KBR), Wikimedia Belgium, meemoo
9:00 - 9:30 Welcome with coffee, water, tea
9:30 - 9:35 Introduction (Bart Magnus - meemoo)
9:35 - 9:55 What is the public domain? (Ellen Van Keer - meemoo)
9:55- 10:50 Showcase of recently unlocked works in the public domain
Piet Janssens (KBR)
Tanguy Habrand (AML)
Lie Cauwelier (Éperon d’Or)
Bart Magnus (meemoo)
Joeri Steegmans (Musea Brugge)
10:50 - 11:15 Break
11:15 - 12:30 (Re)use of public domain material
Project Vrouwen van papier and activities on Wikimedia platforms (Els Depuydt, Collyn Verlinde and Liesbeth Langouche - Guido Gezellearchief)
Project Boeketje Kunst (Dieter Dewitte and Kenzo Milleville - UGent)
Possibilities of IIIF stories (Rein Debrulle - meemoo)
Game Please, Touch the Artwork (Thomas Waterzooi - Studio Waterzooi and Kristof Uittebroek - Departement CJM)
12:30 - 12:40 Future activities
MetaBelgica (Sven Lieber - KBR)
Upload workshop Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (Bart Magnus - meemoo)
12:40 - 13:00 Award ceremony Wiki Loves Heritage (Geert Van Pamel - Wikimedia Belgium)
Afternoon
In the afternoon, we will look at the handling of the public domain by cultural heritage organisations and policies through a European lens. You will learn more about European policies and the impact of new technologies (such as 3D and AI) on the public domain, among other things.
Partners: KBR, Europeana and the Europana Network Association, Communia, KB Netherlands, Creative Commons, Sound & Vision, meemoo
13:45 - 14:00 Welcome with coffee, water, tea
14:00 - 14:15 Keynote (Paul Keller)
Part 1: Copyright issues
14:15 - 15:00 Lightning Talks:
Nudging Users to Reference Institutions when Using Public Domain Materials (Connor Benedict - Creative Commons)
Monetization of the Public Domain (Douglas McCarthy)
Heritage Laws as Additional Barriers (Giulia Dore - Trento University)
15:00 - 15:30 Roundtable with Connor Benedict, Douglas McCarthy, Giulia Priora and Maarten Zeinstra
15:30 - 15:50 Break
Part 2: The future of the public domain
15:50 - 16:35: Lightning Talks:
Dystopian Futures of the Public Domain: Looking back at Article 14 in the year 2050 (Andrea Wallace - University of Exeter)
Post-Colonial Public Domain (Emine Ozge Yildrim - KU Leuven Center for IT & IP Law)
Artificial Intelligence & Public Domain (Dimitar Dimitrov - Wikimedia Europe)
16:35 - 17:05: Roundtable with Andrea Wallace, Emine Ozge Yildrim, Dimitar Dimitrov and Terese Nobre (Communia)
17:05 - 17:10: Wrap-up
17:10 - 18:30: Reception
- T • +32 9 298 05 01
- M • bart.magnus@meemoo.be