Archival Documents about the Copyright Commission
(October 1971 - June 1980)
The history of the FIAF Copyright Commission begins in 1970, when Ernest Lindgren, Curator of the National Film Archive (London) and then Vice-President of FIAF, suggested creating a FIAF Commission that would deal with issues of copyright, which have always been at the core of film archives' work. The Executive Committee supported the idea and the Commission was officially founded in 1971, with Lindgren appointed as its first Chair. Renamed the “Legal and Copyright Commission” in 1972, its first meeting was held in Oslo in February of the same year.
In 1973, John Kuiper, Head of the Motion Pictures Section of the Library of Congress and Vice-President of FIAF, took over from Lindgren as the Chair of the Legal and Copyright Commission. After a few years of work researching copyright laws in different countries, and of discussions with UNESCO and FIAPF, the International Federation of Film Producers, the Commission was officially dissolved at the Karlovy-Vary General Meeting in 1980.
On this webpage, you can find various documents related to the FIAF Legal and Copyright Commission, such as minutes, reports, and extracts from Congress or EC minutes. They are listed chronologically. For the documents are excerpts from Congress or EC meeting minutes or from the FIAF Information Bulletin, you will be able to consult both the excerpts and the documents they originate from. Note that most of the documents relating to this Commission can be found in box COM/003 of the FIAF Historical Archive.
Page created with the help of Lâl Ozalp, student at the Université libre de Bruxelles.
Before 1971
Recommendation of the Executive Committee at its meeting (28-30 March 1965) [Copyright questions]
"FIAF and Film Copyright", by Ernest Lindgren (May 1965)
"FIAF Enquiry on Copyright", letter from Ernest Lindgren (25 March 1966)
Draft of FIAF-FIAPF Agreement, by Ernest Lindgren (8 February 1968)
Discussion on copyright at the Executive Committee Meeting (3-4 March 1969, Paris EC Minutes, p.16)
Correction of the Paris EC Minutes concerning the discussion on Copyright (19-20 May 1969, New-York EC Minutes, p.3)
Discussion on Copyright at the Executive Committee Meeting (14-15 March 1970, Vienna EC Minutes, pp.17-18)
Suggestion from Ernest Lindgren to create a Copyright Commission at the Executive Committee Meeting (23-25 May 1970, Lyon EC Minutes, p.25)
Discussion on Copyright problems at the General Assembly Meeting (26-29 May 1970, Lyon Congress Minutes, pp.53-54)
Discussion on Copyright at the Executive Committee Meeting (18-20 November 1970, Kleinmachnow EC Minutes, p.18)
1971
"Film Copyright Problems. A List of Problems That Should Be Adressed", by the National Film Archive of London (20-28 February 1971, London)
"Copyright Meeting" at the Executive Committee Meeting (26-28 February 1971, London EC Minutes, pp.5-8)
Discussion on the Copyright Comission Report at the Executive Committee Meeting (29-31 May 1971, Wiesbaden EC Minutes, pp.7-8)
Discussion on the Report of the Copyright Commssion at the General Assembly (1-4 June 1971, Wiesbaden Congress Minutes, pp.21-22)
"Problems of Film and Copyright and Related Matters as They Affect Film Arcives. A Working Paper", by Neville March Hunnings (1-4 June 1971, Wiesbaden Congress)
Discussion on the Copyright Commission at the Executive Committee Meeting (23-25 October 1971, Toulouse EC Minutes, p.20)
"Dépot légal des films et domaine public en matière de cinéma", by André Basdevant ([1971-1974] found without date, so approximative date based on the location of document : box with 1971 and 1974 documents)
1972
"Film Copyright and Film Archives : Draft Report", by Ernest Lindgren & Neville March Hunnings (February 1972, Oslo)
"Film Copyright and Film Archives" revised at the Copyright Commission Meeting, by Ernest Lindgren & Neville March Hunnings (25 February 1972, Oslo)
First Copyright Commission Meeting Minutes (25 February 1972, Oslo)
Discussion on the Copyright Commission at the Executive Committee Meeting (26-28 February 1972, Oslo EC Minutes, p.17)
Report of the Copyright Commission (March 1972, FIAF Information Bulletin n°1, [1])
Report of the Copyright Commission (May 1972, FIAF Information Bulletin n°2 [1])
Discussion on the Copyright Commission Report at the Executive Committee Meeting (28-29 May 1972, Bucharest EC Minutes, pp.7-8)
Discussion on the Report of the Copyright Commission Report at the General Assembly Meeting (31 May - 3 June 1972, Bucharest Congress Minutes, pp.11-13)
"Film Archives and Copyright : A Personal Statement by the Chairman of FIAF Copyrigth and Legal Commission", by Ernest Lindgren (October 1972, Milan)
Discussion on the preparation MIFED/FIAF meeting about copyright problems at the Executive Committee Meeting (26-28 October 1972, Milan EC Minutes, pp.8-9)
1973
Discussion on the Copyright Commission at the Executive Committee Meeting (17-18 March 1973, Brussels EC Minutes, p.14)
Discussion on the Report of the Copyright Commission at the Executive Committee Meeting (4-6 June 1973, Moscow EC Minutes, p.8)
Discussion on the Report of the Legal & Copyright Commission at the General Assembly Meeting (7-12 June 1973, Moscow Congress Minutes, p.31)
Report of the Copyright Commission (December 1973, FIAF Information Bulletin n°3 [2])
1974
Discussion on the Copyright Commission at the Executive Committee Meeting (15-17 February 1974, Helsinki EC Minutes, p.13)
Minutes of the Legal and Copyright Commission Meeting (18 February 1974, Helsinki)
Report of the Copyright Commission (April 1974, FIAF Information Bulletin n°6 [1])
Discussion on the Report of the Legal and Copyright Commission at the General Assembly Meeting (20-25 May 1974, Ottawa-Montreal Congress Minutes, p.11)
Discussion on the Copyright Commission at the Executive Committee Meeting Minutes (26-27 October 1974, Paris EC Minutes, pp.3-4)
Report of the Copyright Commission (December 1974, FIAF Information Bulletin n°7 [2])
"Draft of FIAF-FIAPF Agreement" ([1974-1975] found without date, so approximative date based on mentions of said document in other dated FIAF documents)
1975
Discussion on the Report of the Copyright Commission at teh Executive Committee Meeting (9-10 March 1975, Amsterdam EC Minutes, pp.7-8)
Report of the Copyright Commission (April 1975, FIAF Information Bulletin n°8 [3])
Discussion on the Report of the Legal and Copyright Commission at the Executive Committee Meeting (30-31 May, 5 June 1975, Turin EC Minutes, pp.5-6)
Discussion on the Copyright Commission and Relations with FIAPF at the Executive Committee Meeting (25-26 October 1975, Belgrade EC Minutes, pp.10-12)
Report of the Copyright Commission (December 1975, FIAF Information Bulletin n°9 [1-2])
1976
Discussion on the Copyright Commission at the Executive Committee Meeting (21-23, 27 May 1976, Mexico EC Minutes, pp.6-7)
Discussion on the Report of the Legal and Copyright Commission at the General Assembly Meeting (24-27 May 1976, Mexico Congress Minutes, pp.11-12)
1977
Discussion on the Report of the Legal and Copyright Commission at the General Assembly Meeting (27-28 May 1977, Varna Congress Minutes, pp.14-15)
1978
Discussion on FIAPF and on the Copyright Commission at the Executive Committee Meeting (27-30 January 1978, Perpignan EC Minutes, p.17; p.22)
Report of the Copyright Commission, by John Kuiper (May 1978, Brighton)
Discussion on the Report of the Copyright Commission at the Executive Committee Meeting (25-27 May 1978, Brighton EC Minutes, pp.15-16)
Discussion on the extension of the Copyright Commission at the Executive Committee Meeting (1 June 1978, Brighton EC Minutes, pp.5-6)
Discussion on the Legal and Copyright Commission at the General Assembly Meeting (28 May - 2 June 1978, Brighton Congress Minutes, pp.7-8)
Discussion on the Copyright Commission at the Executive Committee Meeting (28-30 November 1978, Brussels EC Minutes, pp.31-32)
1979
Discussion on the Copyright Commission at the Executive Committee Meeting (3-5 March 1979, Ljubljana EC Minutes, p.17)
Report of the Copyright Commission (May 1979, FIAF Information Bulletin n°16 [3])
Discussion on the repots of specialised commissions at the Executive Committee Meeting (28-30 May 1979, Lausanne EC Minutes, p.10)
Discussion on the Report of Copyright Commission and discussion of the UNESCO document on the Preservation of Moving Images at the General Assembly Meeting (30 May -1 June 1979, Lausanne Congress Minutes, pp.21-25 )
Report of The Copyright and Legal Commission, by John Kuiper (30 May - 1 June 1979, Lausanne Congress)
Discussion on the Copyright Commission at the Executive Committee Meeting (13-15 November 1979, Oslo EC Minutes, p.23)
1980
Discussion on the Legal and Copyright Commission at the Executive Committee Meeting (16-18 April 1980, New-York EC Minutes, pp.17-18)
Report of the Copyright Commission (May 1980, FIAF Information Bulletin n°18 [6])
Discussion on the dissolution of the Legal and Copyright Commission ath the General Assembly Meeting (18-23 June 1980, Karlovy-Vary Congress Minutes, p.3)
