154 · Representative Documents: Copyright and Use Rights Policies
DIGITAL LIBRARY OF THE CARIBBEAN
Guide to Permissions &Copyright/Public Domain Review
http://dloc.com/AA00002865/00004/pdf
www.dloc.com Permissions and Copyright: 2
and creators retain moral rights even after transferring copyright or ownership of the work. dLOC
supports moral rights by ensuring proper attribution is included for materials, for their creators and the
partner institution that contributing materials. Moral rights also grant creators the right to integrity
which offers protection for holism of the creator’s work. dLOC supports these rights again by ensuring
that works are presented and preserved as artifacts. The U.S. does not yet fully recognize moral rights,
limiting support only to visual art creators’ right of attribution, right of integrity, and right to prevent
destruction of their work (1990 Visual Artists Rights Act). The U.S. has a reductive view of moral rights
compared to many countries. France offers a counter model where moral rights may survive the
expiration of copyright.
Cultural Heritage Rights
In many countries, cultural heritage and public institutions have specific additional rights and
responsibilities. These may include provisions to support access, preservation, use in teaching, and use
in research. These responsibilities may include rights for certain uses that would otherwise be
prohibited by the creator’s rights.
Copyright
Copyright law varies from country to county. Though many of the Caribbean Basin countries are Berne
International Copyright Convention signatory nations, it is often difficult to determine which set of laws
to apply or what the term of protection may be from one country to another or, for that matter, from
one year to another.
The copyright laws of the European Union and the United States represent the Caribbean’s most
challenging and longest lasting copyright protections. When in doubt it is often a safe bet to apply the
laws of those countries. For assistance understanding United States copyright legislation and duration
of protections see: Cornell University’s Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States.i
When an item selected for digitization is scanned in its country of origin, the laws of the country of
origin should be understood to apply. However, when an item selected for digitization is scanned away
from its country of origin, consider both the laws of the country of origin and the laws of the location
from which the digital resource will be made accessible via the Internet and apply those laws that afford
the item the longest protection. For content providers using the centralized services of the Digital
Library of the Caribbean, the laws of that location are the laws of the United States. Applying the
longest protections may not be to the advantage of archives, libraries and museums, but this policy
affords the Digital Library of the Caribbean the greatest protection under the international law.
DIGITAL LIBRARY OF THE CARIBBEAN
Guide to Permissions &Copyright/Public Domain Review
http://dloc.com/AA00002865/00004/pdf
www.dloc.com Permissions and Copyright: 2
and creators retain moral rights even after transferring copyright or ownership of the work. dLOC
supports moral rights by ensuring proper attribution is included for materials, for their creators and the
partner institution that contributing materials. Moral rights also grant creators the right to integrity
which offers protection for holism of the creator’s work. dLOC supports these rights again by ensuring
that works are presented and preserved as artifacts. The U.S. does not yet fully recognize moral rights,
limiting support only to visual art creators’ right of attribution, right of integrity, and right to prevent
destruction of their work (1990 Visual Artists Rights Act). The U.S. has a reductive view of moral rights
compared to many countries. France offers a counter model where moral rights may survive the
expiration of copyright.
Cultural Heritage Rights
In many countries, cultural heritage and public institutions have specific additional rights and
responsibilities. These may include provisions to support access, preservation, use in teaching, and use
in research. These responsibilities may include rights for certain uses that would otherwise be
prohibited by the creator’s rights.
Copyright
Copyright law varies from country to county. Though many of the Caribbean Basin countries are Berne
International Copyright Convention signatory nations, it is often difficult to determine which set of laws
to apply or what the term of protection may be from one country to another or, for that matter, from
one year to another.
The copyright laws of the European Union and the United States represent the Caribbean’s most
challenging and longest lasting copyright protections. When in doubt it is often a safe bet to apply the
laws of those countries. For assistance understanding United States copyright legislation and duration
of protections see: Cornell University’s Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States.i
When an item selected for digitization is scanned in its country of origin, the laws of the country of
origin should be understood to apply. However, when an item selected for digitization is scanned away
from its country of origin, consider both the laws of the country of origin and the laws of the location
from which the digital resource will be made accessible via the Internet and apply those laws that afford
the item the longest protection. For content providers using the centralized services of the Digital
Library of the Caribbean, the laws of that location are the laws of the United States. Applying the
longest protections may not be to the advantage of archives, libraries and museums, but this policy
affords the Digital Library of the Caribbean the greatest protection under the international law.
