Until now, permission has been sought directly from the illustrator. ‘The number of reading videos and streams has grown a lot during the coronavirus period, which is great, but it has also created extra work for illustrators on managing their licences,’ says Executive Director of the Finnish Illustration Association Asta Boman-Björkell.
We wanted to make the situation easier for illustrators and libraries by offering a convenient solution: a new copyright licence that allows the use of illustrations and cover art in the library’s videos and live streaming events.
We have informed libraries about our new licence solution. The licence has raised the question of whether a permission is always needed to display a book cover when giving a book tip.
‘When an illustration or the cover of a book is featured in a video in a major role or otherwise more visibly displayed, permission from the copyright holder is required. This is the case when the illustration of a book is used when reading the book on a fairy tale session video or when pictures of a book are attached to a book tip or reading session video, for example. For this, we want to offer an easy licence solution on behalf of illustrators and publishers,’ says our licensing manager Kirsi Salmela.
‘The licence is not required if the cover of the book is shown on the video in a secondary role,’ Salmela clarifies. This is the case when the person giving a book tip holds the book in their hands or the book is on the table between interviewees, for example. Permission to use illustrations is also not required if the copyright of the image used has already expired. Copyright remains valid for the duration of the author’s life and 70 years from the end of the year of their death.
‘We are pleased that Kopiosto responded to illustrators’ growing desire for a new licence product for reading videos and streaming. A clear licence for libraries helps illustrators focus on their creative work and provides libraries with an easy way to obtain the required permissions,’ says Boman-Björkell delightedly.
In order to read and record the text of a written work or parts of it on video or in a live streaming event, the library needs a separate permission from the copyright holder of the text, i.e. the writer, translator or publisher. The permission can be asked directly from the publisher and/or the writer or translator. For more information on this, please contact our sister organisation Sanasto.