An Overview of the International Copyright System Supporting Digital Archives in Museums, Libraries and Archives

Abstract

This paper aims to provide an overview of the international copyright system's response to digital archives, particularly in museums (referred to as "DA" hereafter), within MLA (Museum, Library, and Archive) institutions. First, the content of copyright-related treaties will be surveyed. Then, we will clarify the positioning of DAs within the context of both copyright and the rights to access creative works, highlighting their efforts in this regard. Additionally, we will discuss the initiatives related to MLA and intellectual property at WIPO. Subsequently, the feasibility of museums' DAs, primarily in Europe and American copyright systems, will be examined, followed by a comparative analysis with the current copyright system in Japan. As a result, it will be revealed that Japanese copyright system provides a relatively favorable environment for implementing DAs.