Practice Activity: Who Is the Owner? Donor? Creator? FACILITATOR GUIDE

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1 FACILITATOR GUIDE 1. Introduce the activity: When collecting records, it is important to distinguish between the creator, owner, and donor of a record. This way the intellectual property rights can be properly documented and transferred to the Church. This activity is based on United States laws and international treaties surrounding copyright. Participants should be aware that laws on creating, owning, and donating items vary from country to country. 2. Explain the objective: In this activity, imagine you are meeting with several members to collect their records. You will need to determine who the creators, owners, and donors are. 3. Carry out the activity: a. Pass out the four questions face up (ask the participants not to turn the papers over because the answers are on the back). b. Ask the participants to read the description of the record and then answer the questions. c. After they have answered, have them look at the answer on the back. Then discuss each question and its answer. 4. After the activity is complete, summarize the activity: Here are the key points to remember from this activity: Owning a record and owning the copyright are not the same thing. For example, a person can own a copy of a book but not own the copyright. Even if a donor does not own the copyright, the Church can still acquire the record. However, it may not be able to provide copies or post the record online.

2 QUESTION 1 OF 4 You are meeting with David Martinez. Brother Martinez has Richard Bridge s 1905 mission journal describing his experiences as a young missionary in Germany. Brother Martinez is not related to Richard Bridge. In 2010, he bought the journal on ebay. When Brother Martinez bought the journal, there were no legal ownership papers that came with it, just the journal. David assumes that Richard Bridge was born in the 1880s and is, therefore, no longer living. Who is the creator of the journal? Who is the owner of the journal? Who is the donor of the journal?

3 ANSWER Who is the creator of the journal? Richard Bridge is the creator of the journal because he wrote it. Who is the owner of the journal? David Martinez is the owner because he purchased it from ebay. Who is the donor of the journal? David Martinez is the donor because he is the one donating it to the Church.

4 QUESTION 2 OF 4 You are meeting with Inez Lopez. She is the granddaughter of Pedro and Miranda Lopez. Pedro Lopez was a prominent stake president in the 1960s, and his wife was a stake Relief Society president for many years. The collection contains journals, letters, talks, photographs, and stake newsletters relating to their service in the Church that Pedro and Miranda carefully saved throughout their lives. Both Pedro and Miranda Lopez passed away over five years ago.

5 ANSWER This collection has two creators, Pedro and Miranda Lopez. When they created the collection, they automatically received the intellectual property rights to it. However, they have died. We will therefore assume that the intellectual property rights they had, have now transferred to Inez Lopez, since she is a direct line descendant and has the collection in her possession. Pedro and Miranda have passed away, and their granddaughter Inez has custody of the physical collection. Because Inez is the one donating the collection to the Church, she is the donor.

6 QUESTION 3 OF 4 You are meeting with Adam Anderson. His father served a mission in the late 1950s to Guatemala. Adam is donating his father s mission journal, some photos, and some letters. Adam s father is still alive but living far away. When asked if his father agrees with this, Adam reports that he and his father spoke about it and both agree that the documents should be preserved in the Church History Library.

7 ANSWER Adam s father is the creator of the collection. Because Adam s father is still alive, he is the legal owner of the collection, even though Adam has physical possession of it. Adam s father is the donor even though he is not present. Adam is acting on behalf of his father. You should have Adam sign the Donation Agreement but also get Adam s father s address. You should follow up by sending Adam s father a copy of the Donation Agreement for him to sign and return to you. Having Adam s father sign the Donation Agreement gives the Church full rights to the records. General Principles to Consider: 1. ACQUIRE THE RECORDS WHEN YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY: After appraising the records and determining they are of historical value and should be acquired, fill out the Donation Agreement and take the records when you have the opportunity, even though the donor is not the creator. 2. MAKE A GOOD EFFORT TO GET THE CREATOR S SIGNATURE: Follow up with the record s creator to get the proper signature.

8 QUESTION 4 OF 4 You are meeting with Lia Rubio. She is donating a collection of rare Spanish periodicals published by the Church in the 1950s. The magazines were found in a box in the meetinghouse library, and her bishop asked her to donate them to the RPC. b. The Church b. The local ward b. The local ward

9 ANSWER b. The Church Because the magazines were published by the Church, it is the creator and the copyright holder. b. The local ward Lia s ward is the owner of the magazines. b. The local ward Lia s ward is the donor. Technically, a donation agreement is not necessary since the magazines were created by the Church. However, there is no harm in having Lia or the bishop sign the Donation Agreement.