Museum Fees Are Killing Art HistoryL'appel aux armes des historiens d'art anglais

Comme le relatent deux billets récents du blog Arthistory News, le Times magazine a publié le 6 novembre dernier la lettre d'un groupe d'historiens d'art et d'éditeurs de revues anglais (dont le prestigieux Burlington Magazine) demandant l'abolition des droits de reproduction pour les peintures, estampes et dessins conservés dans les musées nationaux.

À la suite de cet appel, une série de questions a été posée au gouvernement durant une séance du Parlement:

• To ask Her Majesty's Government whether National Museums will review their imaging policies in the light of recent calls to abolish image fees for out of copyright paintings, prints and drawings.
• To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the charging of image fees for academic use by National Museums on their use in academic lectures and publications.
• To ask Her Majesty's Government whether National Museums will consider providing open access to images of publicly owned, out of copyright paintings, prints, and drawings so that they are free for the public to reproduce; and whether they have held discussions with non-UK museums about such access.
• To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they sanction each National Museum's interpretation of image copyright law; and if not, what measures are in place to review whether National Museums are interpreting image copyright law correctly.
• To ask Her Majesty's Government how much income was raised by each National Museum by licensing images of out of copyright works in the last five years.
• To ask Her Majesty's Government how National Museums assess whether the image fees they charge for academic use are reasonable; and what representations they have made to academic communities to evaluate their fees.

Le texte de la lettre au Times a été traduit ici par la Tribune de l'Art.