3 August 2023
Take Down Policies: The EVA Approach
By Naomi Korn, CEO and Sean Waterman, Head of Intellectual Property
It is important for organisations that publish content online, including websites and social media, or in exhibitions and publications, to have a take down notice or policy. A take down notice or policy communicates their position regarding copyright and particularly if there is a dispute. It therefore assists in protecting the reputation of the organisation if there is a complaint or challenge regarding the ownership, authorship or origins of the published content. Acting as a safeguard for works in copyright and any associated Intellectual Property, it often takes the form of a statement regarding the position of the organisation toward any copyright in the content that they have published, the steps that they have followed to adhere to their legal requirements and the process that they intend to follow subsequent to the complaint.
For many years, Naomi Korn Associates has advocated the use of take down notices as a best practice strategy in association with the digitisation of cultural heritage and particularly when managing and publishing orphan works (works in copyright where the rights holders are either unknown or cannot be traced).
The importance of the role of take down notices is also endorsed as best practice by the National Archives– the UK’s official archive and publisher for the UK Government, and for England and Wales. They have noted that:
“One element of risk management for an archive service that decides to go ahead with a project, either with or without taking out insurance, will be to have in place a review and take down policy. This provides a route to allow an emerging rights holder in the published information to assert their copyright. In response the archive service should be able to take the relevant material off-line (a “take- down” policy) until such a time as the work falls out of copyright. Where the project is undertaken with a commercial partner, the archive service should ensure that its contract terms with the partner include provision for take-down.”
In response to requests for more detail about how a take down notice should work, Naomi Korn Associates are delighted to share the EVA take down approach which provides an easy to remember mnemonic outlining the necessary steps in the process of dealing with take down requests:
Engage politely with the complainant.
Verify the identity of the complainant, their relationship to the content and validity of their concerns.
Action as appropriate.
We believe that the EVA take down approach will help organisations when dealing with potential take down requests, and provide reassurances to both the organisation and the complainant about the specific approach taken. For a template search “take down notice” on the Naomi Korn Associates resources page on our website.
Naomi Korn Associates offer a range of copyright and other IP services to help organisations remain legally compliant when using third party material as well as how best to protect and optimise your assets as set out in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and other related legislation. We also provide downloadable resources, operational tools and templates, jargon-free advice, practical training and mentoring to ensure organisations comply with their intellectual property needs. For more information contact info@naomikorn.com.
Naomi Korn Associates celebrates 20 years in 2023. For business updates, sign up to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter @NKorn and LinkedIn: Naomi Korn Associates.
Our next Copyright Essentials training course takes place on 11 and 18 September 2023 – click here to book your place.