Copyright

The person (or people) who originally created the work — for example, the writer of a book, the photographer who took a picture, or the composer of a piece of music.

The individual or organisation that legally owns the copyright in the work. This is often the creator, but not always. Copyright can be inherited, assigned, or belong to an employer if the work was created in the course of employment.

The person or institution that owns the physical or digital copy of the work — for example, a library holding a manuscript, or a museum holding a painting. Owning the item does not mean owning the copyright.

The Creative Archive Licence was developed in the UK to support the non-commercial sharing and re-use of digital content. Material released under this licence may be:

• Copied, shared, and adapted for personal and educational use
• Used non-commercially only (commercial use is not permitted)
• Distributed with acknowledgement, ensuring that the original source is credited

This licence helps encourage learning, creativity, and participation while safeguarding creators’ rights. 

The full terms of the Creative Archive Licence

Some works in the archive are made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0). This widely used, global licence allows you to:

• Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
• Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material
• Use commercially or non-commercially
• Credit the creator in a manner they request

This licence is very flexible but always requires attribution. 

See the full terms of the Attribution 4.0 International Creative Commons

Make reasonable efforts to find the rights holder:

• Check the item – look for names, dates, or notes.
• Ask locally – consult volunteers, historians, or community members.
• Search externally – libraries, archives, online databases.

Keep records – note where and when you searched.

If the creator remains unknown, weigh the risks:

• Copyright status – is it likely still protected? How likely is a rights holder to emerge?
• Commercial intent – was the item originally created for commercial gain e.g. newspaper article, or a professional photographer’s image. These carry more risk.
• Potential harm – could release cause harm to people or communities?
• Public benefit – does sharing have strong cultural or educational value?

• Acknowledge its orphan work status: “Author/rights holder unknown – please contact us if you have information.”
• Use low-resolution images to reduce misuse.
• Before going live, every item passes through a PCW moderation process to identify high-risk copyright breaches or GDPR issues.
• PCW operates a take down policy, see more here

Your radio, television or publishing company would like to use an image in a segment. If your programme/publication is strictly non-commercial (i.e. being made freely available to the public) then you can use the image under both the Creative Archive Licence and Creative Commons 4.0.

If your use is commercial in nature (i.e. available via a fee or subscription) then you can only use material under Creative Commons 4.0 without first seeking permission from the copyright holder.

In both cases you’ll need to attribute the relevant creator/owner of an item.

You own a box of photographs, letters and newspaper cuttings that tell your family’s story. These items are in your care so you would be the ‘Owner’.

However, the ‘Creator’ of these items was the photographer, author or publisher of the original works and they would usually be the copyright holders unless rights were passed to another person.

Before publishing an item on the People’s Collection Wales, you’ll need to contact the relevant copyright holders of each item for permission, ideally received in writing.

Your local volunteer project would like to interview members of the community and record their oral histories. The permission form you sign with each interviewee must cover all of your intended uses, such as publishing the interview on the People’s Collection Wales, archiving a copy in your local library or broadcasting on a commercial radio programme.