Rescue of orphaned material
The rigorous terms which collecting societies have enforced EU- and worldwide, result in “orphaned” material to stay under lock and key for 150 years. Private photographs are defined as “work”, not “service”, and are therewith subject to a 70 year long term of protection, which starts after the decease of the owner. In case the owner or creator of a photograph is unknown, a human lifespan has to be assumed after the date of recording, after which then again the 70 year long term of protection starts to run. This way, the documentation of material from the 20th century, whose right holders are unknown, becomes impossible. In some countries this problem is bypassed by licensing respective objects – this raises the question about affordability and authorization for licensing though.
This situation hindering the writing of history can be avoided by the crowd sourcing inititative within the framework of a Topotheque: the legal implementation of material by their originators or their inheritors circumvents said material from being considered “orphaned” and is therefore freely accessible to the public.
Usage of music
Due to the licensing by the collecting society (AKM), the desirable retrieving of music (from old super 8 mm films) is a financial issue within the Topotheque. Therefore, you may experience only very little music in the topotheque.