By Sean Waterman, Head of Intellectual Property
On May 9th, 1945, the day after V.E. Day, the island of Guernsey was liberated after enduring 5 years of occupation by German forces.
To mark the 80th anniversary of Liberation Day Guernsey Museums and Galleries partnered with BBC Guernsey to collect islanders’ memories through oral history recordings of their experiences during the German occupation as part of The Island Memories Project. The project prioritised recording the memories of islanders who stayed on the island during the German occupation, who were evacuated, deported, interred or served in the military, but it will also seek to capture memories of all aspects of island life.
Guernsey Museums and Galleries recognised oral histories as a significant way to preserve and generate interest in the history of the island’s people through personal recollections. To ensure the recordings can be archived and used for the project Guernsey Museums and Galleries commissioned Naomi Korn Associates to review and redraft the Island Memories contributor agreements for oral history recordings.
Contributor agreements like this are essential for oral history recordings because they establish clear legal and ethical boundaries for how the recordings can be used, shared, and preserved. They ensure that contributors fully understand and agree to how their interviews will be recorded, stored, and used, including future publication or archival access and provide clarity on who owns the copyright to the recordings.
As a result, the invaluable support provided by Naomi Korn Associates has helped Guernsey Museums & Galleries bring to life and share with a global audience the remarkable stories of the Guernsey islanders.
“The support the Curatorial Team at Guernsey Museums & Galleries has received from Naomi Korn Associates has been invaluable. We have benefitted from both training courses as well as consultation on a number of our copyright agreements and licences. The training has been well structured, accessible and delivered in a relaxed and friendly manner that has helped us make sense of a potentially confusing topic. The consultation on licenses and agreements has really helped us proceed with confidence that our documentation is compliant and mindful of the most up to date UK copyright laws.”
Mike Lowe, Registrar, Guernsey Museums & Galleries
Naomi Korn Associates can support your organisation with expert guidance in reviewing and drafting rights agreements, including oral history contributor agreements. We can assist in securing permissions, managing rights for content use and reproduction, and developing policies and procedures that protect your organisation whilst respecting the rights of content creators and rights holders. Our support enables cultural institutions to share and preserve materials confidently and ethically. To find out more on how we could provide you with support please contact info@naomikorn.com.