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The free Copyright Update webinar, organized by the Digital Publishing Report (DPR), took place on September 18, 2023. Attorney Dr. Stefan Ellenberg (Gutsch & Schlegel Law Firm) presented the fundamentals of copyright law, with a special focus on the age of artificial intelligence. Publishing expert Mario Kandler (Founder of SiteFusion GmbH) demonstrated how the SiteFusion software solution can help you keep track of rights acquisition for your assets.
Copyright Update Part I – Copyright and Generative AI (Dr. Stefan Ellenberg)
The first part of the webinar covered the basics of copyright law. Thanks to clear distinctions, participants gained an understanding of when a person becomes a legal author. It was defined which works are subject to copyright protection and what the consequences are for violations. These definitions were especially helpful when discussing copyright in the age of artificial intelligence. Dr. Stefan Ellenberg elaborated on the limitations regarding AI and text and data mining. He also discussed the current legal stance on AI and potential future developments in this area.
Copyright Update Part II – Mapping Copyright Processes in SiteFusion (Mario Kandler)
The second part of the webinar focused on how to manage rights acquisition for various asset types in the SiteFusion CMS:
- Images
- Audio files
- Videos
- Third-party texts
Example: Image Assets
Of course, you must obtain full rights from the author before publishing an image. For a single image, multiple parties may need to be contacted to secure full usage rights. Different procurement processes may be involved, such as collecting rights through collecting societies, agencies, photographers, or direct inquiries. It is common for a single image to require several procurement steps to ensure legal compliance.
Image Rights Procurement Processes
Our SiteFusion software is the ideal tool to assist in such scenarios. Once an image is inserted into a project and the number of licensors identified, a separate procurement process is initiated for each licensor. The various types of procurement processes include:
- Collecting societies
- Agencies
- Photographers
- Direct inquiries
These process workflows can be individually customized to meet your specific needs. This allows rights to be acquired at different stages of the process—for example, during product creation or only after the first draft review. Rights acquisition in SiteFusion can therefore be staggered. By tailoring workflows in this way, unnecessary licensing costs can be avoided. Thanks to SiteFusion, you always have a clear overview of your publication date. This enables you to align your rights acquisition processes with your specific publishing schedule, helping you save costs effectively.
Managing Procurement Through Rights Holder Categories
For each asset in SiteFusion, there are so-called associated rights holder categories. Therefore, when uploading an image (or another asset), it is necessary to maintain the metadata. The individual licensors/rights holders are then directly linked to the corresponding rights holder categories. As with different licensors/rights holders, various rights holder categories are distinguished. As shown in the workflow below, rights holder categories can include agencies, author photos, or direct inquiries, for example. The decision on when the rights acquisition process is initiated—either directly during draft creation or at a later stage—depends on how time-consuming the acquisition process is within a given rights holder category. If multiple rights holder categories are involved, rights may need to be acquired in a staggered manner.
It’s crucial to remember: acquiring rights for one asset does not automatically grant you permission to reuse it in other products. SiteFusion helps you determine whether assets can be reused or if a new rights process must be initiated.
Rights always depend on usage! This principle is fundamental and central to SiteFusion’s media rights management system.
Rights Procurement for Third-Party Texts
Another example is the integration of third-party texts or quotations into a work. When content is created in the XML editor Fonto, third-party texts are marked as a distinct XML component (quotation) upon insertion. This information automatically triggers a legal review workflow. Predefined roles—such as a legal department—are notified to verify, license if necessary, and tag the content with metadata in SiteFusion.
Metadata Overview in SiteFusion
Using the input form in SiteFusion, metadata such as the source article name, licensor, place of publication, and other information relevant for legal review can be entered immediately after the asset is created. The maskconsists of four interconnected sections:
- Media rights information
- Rights data records
- License details (record view)
- Product usage overview
With just a few clicks, you can verify where your assets may be used—whether in print books, ePUBs, standalone publications, or book series. Other media assets like videos or audio files are managed in SiteFusion similarly to images and texts.
The product has been published!
What Happens When Usage Rights Expire?
Since rights can expire, SiteFusion helps you monitor them continuously. There are three main reasons for rights expiration:
- Licensor changes
- Print run limitations
- Fixed usage durations
SiteFusion not only tracks how long your rights are valid but also shows where the asset is currently used. This allows you to renew rights in time—or remove the asset from affected products and websites if renewal isn’t possible.
As this webinar demonstrated, copyright, rights acquisition, and usage rights are complex topics that can quickly cause uncertainty in daily publishing operations—with potentially serious consequences. That’s why using a solution like SiteFusion is worthwhile: it automates rights management while you focus on content creation—ensuring legally compliant publishing now and in the future.