Next year, in Bologna, FIAF will discuss at one of its symposia the issues of copyright and legal deposit. In anticipation of this, Clyde Jeavons, Curator of the National Film and Television Archive, outlines the NFTVA's proposals for a statutory deposit scheme for film, video and television in the UK.
The NFTVA, through its parent body the British Film Institute, is currently drawing up plans to achieve a law of statutory deposit for films, videos and television programmes in the United Kingdom, the main aim of which will be to ensure that suitable copies of all moving images produced, distributed or transmitted in the UK will be made available for permanent preservation and future use in the National Film and Television Archive.
Legislation to protect the written word in Britain has existed for many years, but has yet to be extended to our audio-visual heritage, which is now almost a century old. The NFTVA believes it would be appropriate if this were to be rectified in time for the Centenary of Cinema in 1995, and a law passed which would guarantee the preservation in brandnew condition of this country's audio-visual culture, both as an art form and as a record of contemporary life, and ensure its permanent availablility for the study and enjoyment of future generations.
There have been a number of attempts in the past to bring such legislation into being in the UK, including Dr David Kerr's Private Member's Bill of 1969 - which received all-party support in principle, but failed to get financial backing from the Labour Government of the day - and through both the Wilson Report of 1976 and the Interim Action Committee on the Film Industry in 1978. None has succeeded, and the Archive has continued to rely almost solely on the skilfully nurtured goodwill of the film, television and video industries for the voluntary deposit of moving image materials in the NFTVA. The success of this very British way of doing things has been substantial over the years, but the results have been predictably haphazard and incomplete in many areas, and the materials put into the Archive's care often worn or damaged. The only significant advance in recent years - perhaps an ironic one where film is concerned - has been the pragmatic attitude to archiving by Independent Television and Channel Four Television, both of which have been funding off-air recordings for preservation in the NFTVA for a number of years, and the provision in the Broadcasting Act 1990 for the maintenance of a funded national television archive within the BFI.
What is needed now, and is the goal of statutory deposit legislation, is a firm right by which the NFTVA/BFI can obtain access to a film or to other culturally significant materials, at the time of the completion of their production, for the purpose of acquiring copies for immediate preservation and to make the materials available for cultural and economic exploitation, within the constraints of normal copyright protection. This provision would not only make deposit of selected materials in the NFTVA obligatory, but also establish the BFI's rights to preserve, copy and provide unhindered access to the materials for bona fide educational purposes, and clarify uncertainties as to the coyright status and ownership of particular audio-visual works so as to free them for valid cultural use and exploitations.
In practice, the producers of all films or film materials made in the UK would be expected, upon request and at their own expense, to deposit permanently in the NFTVA a new and unused original-format print of the 'premiere' version. Within an agreed period of time (say, three years), the original negatives of the film - or an acceptable alternative - would also be deposited freely, for permanent preservation, although remain accessible to the copyright owner for printing under conservation conditions. Similar provisions, with suitable variations, would apply to original videotapes and other moving image media. Importers and distributors of non-British films for showing in the UK would likewise be obliged to deposit a new-condition print with the NFTVA if asked to do so. The Archive would be empowered, moreover, to gain acces to retrospective materials (eg films of the past held by companies or collectors) in order to acquire or copy them for preservation, albeit at the Archive's expense.
A paper elaborating these objectives, drafted by the BFI's legal adviser on statutory deposit and copyright issues, Michael Henry, was put to the BFI Governors in March 1993 and received unanimous approval and acclaim. It was noted, among other points, that it made unquestionable economic sense to invest in and maintain relatively inexpensive mint-condition preservation materials at the time of their production, rather than continue to indulge in costly restoration and reparation work on damaged and neglected films, which is the traditional role of archives. There was support, too, for the deliberately wide and forward-looking interpretation in the draft of 'audio-visual materials', embracing as it does categories such as commercially exploited home movies and videos and computer games, and any future electronic or other media designed to generate moving images. Related materials, such as stills, designs and publicity documentation, have also been taken into account.
The second stage is to consult with the film, television and other audio-visual industries, to convince their practitioners and representatives of the immense mutual benefits to be gained from a properly constructed statutory deposit scheme, and to gain their support and acquiescence in taking the campaign for suitable legislation to fruition. If it succeeds, it will be one of the most important achievements of the NFTVA.
Clyde Jeavons
L'année prochaine, à Bologne, l'un des symposia de la FIAF sera consacré aux problèmes des droits et du dépôt légal.
Comme préambule, Clide Jeavons, conservateur des Archives nationales du film et de la télévision, à Londres, résume le schéma de dépôt légal proposé par le NFTVA en matière de cinéma, de vidéo et de télévision pour la Grande Bretagne.
Les efforts du NFTVA et de son organisme de tutèle, le BFI, visent l'adoption d'une loi de dépôt légal qui assure la disponibilité de copies de toutes les images en mouvement produites, distribuées ou diffusées en Grande Bretagne, à des fins de préservation à long terme et en vue de leur utilisation dans le National Film and Television Archive. Le Centenaire du cinéma sera l'occasion idéale pour faire bénéficier l'héritage audiovisuel des avantages dont jouit depuis des siècles la parole écrite. La première phase du projet élaboré par le conseiller juridique du BFI, Michael Henry, consiste à définir les modalités techniques d'un tel dépôt légal. La deuxième étape consistera à contacter les milieux du cinéma, de la télévision et des autres secteurs de l'industrie audiovisuelle et de les convaincre de l'immense bénéfice que représente l'adoption de dispositions adéquates en matière de dépôt légal.
Una solución duradera
El año próximo, en Bolonia, uno de los simposios de la FIAF abordará los problemas de derechos y de depósito legal. Como preámbulo, Clyde Jeavons, conservador de los Archivos nacionales del film y de la televisión (NFTVA), presenta el esquema de depósito legal propuesto por este organismo en materia de cine, video y televisión para Gran Bretaña. Los esfuerzos del NFTVA y de su organismo de tutela, el British Film Institute (BFI), apuntan a la adopción de una ley de depósito legal que asegure la disponibilidad de copias de todas las obras audiovisuales producidas, distribuidas o difundidas en Gran Bretaña con el objeto de permittir su conservación a largo plazo y su utilización en el NFTVA.
El Centenario del cine será una buena oportunidad para hacer gozar al audiovisual de las mismas ventajas que protejen al patrimonio escrito desde hace siglos.
La primera fase del proyecto elaborado por e definición de las modalidades técnicas del depósito legal; la segunda, en contactar a los medios de cine, de televisión y otros sectores de la industria audiovisual, y de convencerlos del beneficio que representa para todos la adopción de disposiciones adecuadas en materia de depósito legal.