3D-ICONS - D7.4: Report on Business Models

I C O N S
3D Digitisation of Icons of European Architectural and Archaeological Heritage
D7.4: Report on Business Models
3D ICONS is funded by the European Commission’s
ICT Policy Support Programme
Authors:
Sharyn Emslie (CMC)
Dr James Hemsley (CMC)
Emma Inglis (CMC)
Paul O’Sullivan (CMC)
Dr Mike Spearman (CMC)

Revision History
Rev. Date Author Org. Description
0.1 01/08/14 M Spearman
& E Inglis CMC First draft for review and
discussion
0.2 12/08/14
J Helmsley,
M Spearman
P O’Sullivan
CMC Second draft and partner
contribution
0.3 18/08/14 E Inglis CMC Third draft for collation and
proofing
0.4 20/08/14 P O’Sullivan CMC Final additions to draft and final
copy
0.5 26/08/14 P O’Sullivan CMC Minor edits
1.0 29/08/14 P O'Sullivan
M Spearman CMC Final Edit
Revision: 1.0
Authors:
Sharyn Emslie (CMC)
Dr James Hemsley (CMC)
Emma Inglis (CMC)
Paul O'Sullivan (CMC)
Dr Mike Spearman (CMC)
Statement of originality:
This deliverable contains original unpublished work except where clearly indicated
otherwise. Acknowledgement of previously published material and of the work of
others has been made through appropriate citation, quotation or both.
3D-ICONS is a project funded under the European Commission’s ICT Policy Support
Programme, project no. 297194.
The views and opinions expressed in this presentation are the sole responsibility of the
authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission.

Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY....................................................................................................... 3
PART 1: 3D ICONS BUSINESS MODELS........................................................................... 5
1.1 Introduction...................................................................................................................5
1.2 Core Business Activity..................................................................................................6
1.3 Europeana.................................................................................................................... 7
1.4 Sustainable market development.................................................................................8
1.4.1 Soft Businesses.........................................................................................................9
1.4.2 Hard Businesses......................................................................................................11
1.5 Readiness for market................................................................................................. 13
1.6 Movement between markets...................................................................................... 14
PART 2: IPR & LICENSING SCHEMES............................................................................. 17
2.1 Distribution, Access and Control................................................................................ 17
2.2 The 3D-ICONS IPR Scheme......................................................................................19
PART 3: COST ANALYSIS & SUSTAINABILITY............................................................... 22
3.1 Cost Benefit Analysis..................................................................................................22
3.1.1 Selection and Access to Content............................................................................ 24
3.1.2 Assessment and interpretation................................................................................25
3.1.3 Acquisition............................................................................................................... 25
3.1.4 Processing...............................................................................................................25
3.1.5 Post-processing.......................................................................................................26
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3.1.6 Cost Benefit Analysis...............................................................................................26
3.1.7 Sample Project – Skara Brae..................................................................................26
3.2 Towards sustainability................................................................................................ 28
PART 4: MODELS OF BEST PRACTICE...........................................................................30
4.1 Current best practice.................................................................................................. 30
4.1.1 Volume of Data........................................................................................................31
4.1.2 Rights Issues...........................................................................................................31
4.1.3 Metadata..................................................................................................................32
4.1.4 Accessible Digital Storage.......................................................................................33
4.2 Future best practice....................................................................................................34
PART 5: EUROPEAN LEGAL CONTEXT.......................................................................... 36
5.1 Introduction.................................................................................................................36
5.2 New EU Legislation for Digital Cultural Content........................................................36
5.3 Key Relevant European Projects............................................................................... 39
5.3.1 Europeana & Europeana Space............................................................................. 39
5.3.2 CRe-AM...................................................................................................................40
5.3.3 Inter-regional ‘eCulture Cloud’ Initiative.................................................................. 41
5.4 Global considerations and emerging new IPR-relevant legislation vis-a-vis
corresponding political, media & public opinion factors across Europe...........................42
5.5 Short to Mid-Range EU IPR & Legal Trends & Scenarios......................................... 43
5.6 Conclusions................................................................................................................ 45
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Executive Summary
Providing engaging digital content is a multilayered process that requires the co-operation
of a broad range of disciplines. The digitization of heritage sites and artefacts, with the
added complexities of state ownership, limited physical access and recognizable iconic
forms could challenge any co-operative project.
3D-ICONS have established a successful business model that address the challenges
faced by all parties looking to work in this arena. In this context 3D-ICONS have:
 investigated the technical issues relating to acquisition, processing and visualization
of rich digital content,
 explored potential revenue opportunities through alternative licensing schemes,
 analyzed the whole process chain to identify the costs of digitization and where
optimizations can be made,
 and looked to the broader legal landscape in terms of aligning the goals of the
project to European directives.
The 3D-ICONS Business Model that emerged and adopted by all partners was one that
addressed both technical and operational challenges and the combined requirements of
the public and private sectors working together.
Like the task itself, a successful business model requires inclusive cooperation of all
stakeholders. The primary driver for this level of cooperation is the establishment of clear
non-restrictive rights management policies. Effective Intellectual Property (IP)
management is a prerequisite if parties are to profit from original work and stimulate
creative use. 3D-ICONS developed clear guidelines property owners and developers,
recommending the use of the Creative Commons suite of licenses.
Understanding the value involved in producing content is crucial in any project and this
includes the less tangible 'soft' resources that many institutions can rely on. 3D-ICONS
looked at ways of optimizing the use of existing assets and the creative use of licensing
and profit sharing to reduce the risk for all parties involved in creating content.
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In support of 3D-ICONS and for future projects a suite of tools were developed to assist
with the supply of content to Europeana. These include an on-line metadata registration
interface that is compliant with Europeana which provides an intuitive method for the
submission of records. This is supported by a dedicated 3D portal for the storage and
cataloguing of 3D models which not only maps directly to Europeana but provides for a
richer data set for more detailed cross referencing.
There are many ways to prepare content for users, the 3D-ICONS Business Model
provides a set of tools and recommendations that will enable greater efficiency, supply
content to Europeana and critically provide for sustainable revenue generating
opportunities.
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Part 1: 3D ICONS Business Models
1.1 Introduction
The commercial business of scanning and post processing our heritage to produce
marketable 3D models is extremely varied and there are a great many opportunities to be
exploited by our creative industries. Currently there is no ‘norm’ for this work and much of it
is project based. A not uncommon project-based business model for such 3D work could,
for instance, be summarised as:
1. A particular location, building or artefact is needed for a specific project
2. It is 3D surveyed and content specific to the project is post-processed by a range of
contractors
3. Resulting 3D models are provided to the commissioning company or organisation
4. If a host heritage organisation (a monuments department, museum or gallery) is
involved, they may receive an access/facilitation fee.
Only rarely does the heritage organisation acquire some or all of the 3D data for its own
purposes or for distribution to other users. Most do not have the equipment or skills to
review 3D data and rarely does the 3D data reach a long-term heritage archive in a
suitable format.
The 3D-ICONS Business Model is radically different. Critically, it places the heritage
organisation within the business model and it requires an additional output – publically
searchable and viewable information on the 3D Assets produced. Specifically, 3D-ICONS
contributes metadata on its 3D Assets to Europeana, but as a result of this provision other
long-term heritage archives are becoming involved in aggregating 3D Assets and their
substantial data files. The 3D-ICONS Business Model does not prevent commercial
production of 3D Assets or impede project-based work. It simply underlines the numerous
advantages to heritage organisations, survey teams and post-processing specialists of
working together to archive their work and of promoting public access to at least the
equivalent of 3D Thumbnails of their sites and collections.
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The 3D-ICONS Business Model has been well received by consortium partners and the
heritage organisations they work with. It has also been appreciated by audiences as we
have disseminated the work of the project. We certainly believe that by creating 3D
archives that are publically and professional accessible through Europeana and other
search engines and services, we will help to stimulate the Creative Industries involvement
in digital 3D. The truth of this will only be revealed over the coming years but the creation
of reliable and accessible archives of 3D data and post processed models will have a
significant impact on monument management as well as architectural practice. The role of
organised archives and search engines such as Europeana will become ever more
relevant as the number of 3D models increases. 3D-ICONS has made a major contribution
to the volume of models available and the metadata standards required. Others, such as
the Fraunhofer, are developing automated scanning systems for the volume 3D capture of
museum artefacts.
We will look at these issues in more detail in this report, but even from this brief and
simplistic description of a not uncommon business model for the production of digital 3D
Assets of our European heritage, the impact of what we term here the ‘3D-ICONS
Business Model’ on those who produce and use 3D is already significant. The report’s
focus is therefore on the net experience of the 3D-ICONS partners and with particular
respect to their dealing within the heritage sector. While this report does draw some data
from commercial avenues, it does not attempt to describe the wider and rapidly changing
global market for 3D materials.
1.2 Core Business Activity
The 3D-ICONS project has sought to establish a professional ‘archive friendly’ pipeline for
the survey, post-processing and documentation of 3D models of archaeological sites,
historic buildings and artefacts. A fundamental aim of standardising these models and their
associated metadata is to facilitate public and professional access to them as a result of
their presence in Europeana. Partner organisations have tested and proven a process that
will assist any cultural heritage organisation in the creation of 3D models. Guidance is
provided on the choice of technologies, making decision about the range and quality of
content to be produced and how this might serve an end-user, and the release of content
through an appropriate broker.
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The array of players in producing content and bringing it to the end users are many and
varied but can be simplified as follows:
Figure 1 – Contributors to the process of making 3D models and moving them to market.
The work of the 3D-ICONS partner organisations has met with challenges at each stage of
the process, largely because of the lack of experience and robust guidelines. We have
shown, however, that the development and deployment of successful technologies to allow
quality models to be produced and in the release of those models, either wholly or in part,
to the market place is achievable and now have a rich diversity of case studies
1.3 Europeana
The 3D-ICONS test ground has focussed on not-for-profit distribution of cultural heritage
material but improvements made here can only help open up the opportunity for profit
potential too. Over the last ten years Europeana, as the only pan-European search engine,
has made significant inroads into making cultural content available on-line on a not-for-profit
basis. An astonishing 300 million objects have now been digitised across Europe.
They reflect the many facets of European culture captured in books, paintings, letters,
photographs, sound and moving image. However, this figure represents only 10% of the
estimated total of objects held in heritage organisations, and only one third of the digital
content is currently available online (Europeana 2020 Strategy).
This achievement is, at one level, very impressive but the reality is that most of this digital
content is not now suitable, or indeed readily available, for commercial reuse. Formats and
file sizes have changed in both 2D, movies and, above all, 3D Data. For example, barely
3% of the content on Europeana is rights cleared (or at least easily clearable) for creative
re-use, commercial or ‘not for profit’, even though much of the content to be found on
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Specialist or
Recreational
User
3D Scanning
Provider /
Curators /
Photographers
3D Image Library
/ 3D Multimedia
or Systems
Developer /
Sales &
Marketing
Cultural Heritage /
Research
Organisations

Europeana could find ready reuse in social media or for instance via APIs for mash-ups,
etc. The time, effort and capital expended to reach a figure of 10% of Europe’s heritage
digitised underlines what a strategic and long term process this is – even for 2D images of
widely varying quality. Europeana itself has identified that to open up collections for the
benefits of society and the economy, there needs to be a combined approach to
developing standards, embracing new technology, by changing copyright, and developing
new business models. This is, as 3D-ICONS has shown, all the more so in the case of 3D
Data.
Many content rich organisations across Europe still struggle to cover their running costs so
some level of income generation is attempted by charging for commercial access to digital
content. In practice, few are yet competent at this or properly digitally aware of the deals
being struck. Honest brokerage and a trusted market place would help this situation and
release potential. The response from Europeana has been to adopt the Creative
Commons, a system which allows organisations, be they commercial or non-commercial,
to place their content in the public domain while retaining ownership. We have underlined
the importance of this in the 3D-ICONS Business Model. We have recognised that if
quality assets are to be made publically available and viewable with no need for plug-ins or
proprietary viewers, significant post processing is almost always required. Given the cost
of post-processing of 3D survey data and also the considerable new IPR that is generated,
it is therefore essential that 3D assets are licensed correctly. Organisations are then able
to support Europeana with their content whilst capitalising on their business assets. As a
result of adopting Creative Commons as a key component of their IPR Scheme,
Europeana has become a significant channel for rich content and heritage. Academic and
commercial organisations working with 3D-ICONS have been able to place 3D models and
metadata into the Europeana search engine.
1.4 Sustainable market development
Market development in 3D materials operates is largely uncharted territory, with rapid
advances in technologies and conflicting license policies producing an ever shifting
landscape. Recently, the primary facilitators of activity have been 'soft businesses' such
the heritage and education sector, with Europeana at the forefront. A key shift in the
current project-based approach to the market in 3D content to a more sustainable
approach is the access and archive approach inherent in the 3D-ICONS Business Model.
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This facilitates multiple users of the original model as well as recognising the ‘for profit’ and
‘more than profit’ value of these resources.
1.4.1 Soft Businesses
In the current situation within 3D-ICONS content that is distributed is generally done so on
a not-for-profit basis, through portals such as Europeana. There has been internal
discussion about the potential to generate revenue from content as well, but to date this
has not been undertaken. Within the parameters of this project Europeana is therefore our
identified market. To date, Europeana has operated on a purely not-for-profit basis but it
has acknowledged that there are economic gains to be made from the cultural heritage it
holds data on and new targets are being set within Europeana’s 2020 strategy to begin to
generate revenue. In part, this is a response to cuts in funding, but as this is a situation
that is shared by many cultural organisations, it may provide an example that others could
follow.
It is important, however, to recognise the Soft Business that organisations such as
Europeana generate. A fundamental of many heritage organisations is that our shared
cultural heritage fundamentally belongs to us all and that end-users should have an
unobstructed access to their heritage. That need not mean that commercial opportunities
are not embraced or supported. Even through Europeana, project partners are already
making a contribution to Europe’s economy. The largest indirect contribution expected
from Europeana is an uplift in tourism numbers and research quality. This is particularly
true of 3D Data provided by 3D-ICONS where World Heritage monuments are presented
and data sets are of research quality.
Europeana is but one route to distribution and in future content providers could look to
develop other potential markets.
Education - the education sector is excited about material that is digitised and the
imaginative potential that it provides. 3D models of iconic sites can provide access and
exploration of sites where a physical visit to a site cannot be achieved, for example
through web site or specialist digital publication. Of course, education providers are not
always in a position to purchase non-essential resources, but cultural heritage
organisations could choose to use models to enhance their own on-site interpretation or
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education, using the same content to develop their 3D models into additional products for
sale.
An example from the project is STARC creating 3D models with primary school children,
following their visit to the lab. The school was from the village of Pyrga, Cyprus, and the
programme aimed to introduce new technologies for a better understanding of local
heritage and the history of the village.
DISC is in the early stages of discussions with the Office of Public Works on how data and
models can be incorporated into the interpretive centres across Ireland, for example at Bru
na Boinne Visitors Centre, Glendalough and Clonmacnoise.
The acquisition and digitization of the Sarcophagus of the Spouses is part of an
interdisciplinary and cross medial project, conducted by several research groups including
FBK, aimed at delivering highly detailed photo-realistic 3D representations of the Etruscan
m a s t e r p i e c e f o r s u c c e s s i v e m u l t i m e d i a p u r p o s e s
(http://sarcofagodeglisposi.fbk.eu/node/7). The project is a case study for the European
project Virtual Museum Network of Excellence (www.v-must.net).
Performing arts – there is potential for increased use of 3D in the field of the performing
arts, for example as stage sets. As identified in the 3D-COFORM Market Strategy Analysis
there are also opportunities to use 3D models to support cross art form projects such as
those including dance and music. Digital media has already inspired people to create new
content and provided them with the tools to innovate and create new forms of art. If the
‘prosumer’ revolution takes off (the market segment between professional and consumer)
we can also assume that artists will seek to develop their own creative responses to 3D
material if it is readily and openly available, in ways not yet anticipated.
3D image libraries – 3D image libraries of real world rather than made world collections
have yet to emerge to any significant extent but made world collections show that they
hold potential. The likely direction of development is that 2D image libraries will start to
incorporate more 3D images (SCRAN, The Scottish Cultural Research Network has
already done this with a limited number of sites and objects) rather than separate
emerging 3D specialisms. The work of 3D-ICONS has underlined the importance of 2D
photography in texturing geometry and it is clearly the case that image libraries will provide
2D ‘screen grabs’ of 3D models as well as all the relevant building blocks of the models
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and sample video outputs. In other words, real world 3D image libraries are complex and
rich spaces – as the assets and rich metadata linked to Europeana by 3D-ICONS
demonstrate.
1.4.2 Hard Businesses
The market place is maturing and new opportunities are emerging especially as 3D
cinema and TV become more grounded.
TV and Film - There is real potential in this field to supply 3D models for advertising
campaigns, animations, feature films or educational programmes. To give an impression of
the potential of 3D film in particular, the situation in Germany can be taken as a case
study. In June 2010 Germany had more than 270 theatres with at least one 3D capable
screen. In 2010 and 2011 two 3D films were produced by the largest independent German
film studio, Constantin Film. The first one "Konferenz der Tiere" (The Animals Conference)
was heralded as the first German animation film in 3D (October 2010). A budget of over 15
million Euros was planned for the re filming of the thriller "The Jesus Video" in 2011 and
The Caligari Film- und Fernsehproduktions GmbH, located in Munich, was also planning a
3D film for 2011, receiving for it more than 1.5 million Euros in funding. If this level of
industry and consumer interest in 3D continues to grow, it should have a positive impact
on the readiness of the public and producers to engage with 3D in the cultural heritage
sector. (Example taken from 3D-COFORM Market Strategy Analysis Second Stage
Report, 2011)
Within the project DISC is currently discussing the use of their laser scan data of Skellig
Michael with a film currently in production. The production company have filmed the
exterior shots on location on the island and may also want to carry out some interior shots.
Since this is not possible due to the fragile nature of the site, they may use DISC’s data to
reconstruct the site within the film studio instead.
Games – The potential for 3D gaming is not yet fully developed but is anticipated in
coming years. The games market is a competitive one with participants seeking the next
competitive edge so it is reasonable to assume that higher quality and more detailed
depictions might be sought in the future. As the nature of games evolves, industry players
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may become potential purchasers of 3D models of cultural heritage sites and monuments.
Games involving adventures, role playing and 'first-person-shooters' could all benefit from
high quality models.
As a sector, gaming is a good example of European competitiveness but it is also a field
facing ever increasing global competition. Serious games is currently a niche area within
the overall gaming industry but a sector with the potential for significant growth and impact.
Better deployment of digital game technologies in non-gaming sectors could lead to
improved competitiveness of businesses, improvements in EU economies, new business
models, technology transfers, and a wide range of indirect societal benefits. Currently,
however, low funding in serious games, the cost of game development, platforms, VR
environments, simulators, etc., makes such games unaffordable for potential customers.
Serious game producers need to be able to reach potential consumers quickly and at
reasonable cost. ICT tools such as rapid development platforms and quick development
environments, rapid prototyping, collaborative design for serious games, ICT platforms for
crowd-funding or crowd-sourcing could be helpful. Advances in areas such as augmented
reality (3D, avatars, VR/AR environments), more versatile game engines, customised
game solutions, simulation solutions, platform standards and open standards have also
been identified as useful by industry players.
During The Future of ICT for Creativity and Creative Industries Workshop organised by the
‘Creativity’ Unit in DG CONNECT, the European Union, which was held in Luxembourg on
27 & 27 March 2014, participants generally agreed that the demand for content is rapidly
outstripping current abilities to supply. Various future directions to address market
blockages were identified including Automatic & Dynamic Content Creation and Adaptation
- enabling users to go from content which is static to content that is generated. It is thought
that this could lead to a significant enhancement in the user experience allowing different
rendering according to the user preferences. In gaming this is already the situation – users
often enter a different gaming scenario every time they enter a game. However, although
the technologies exist in gaming, there is an on-going and ever increasing need to
generate content. Content creators should be encouraged to become meta-creators – to
annotate all manner of content so that it can be delivered in unexpected ways to go
beyond their original purpose. For this to happen in the case of 3D models, licensing
decisions need to be made to allow the availability of part of whole 3D models for creative
re-use and quality issues need to be resolved.
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e-Publications – the very significant take-up of tablets and other portable technology has
dramatically changed the ways in which heritage organisations and other content providers
distribute and publish their work. This includes 3D content which has successfully been
brought to public use on these platforms. Within 3D-ICONS, CMC has been working with
Historic Scotland to develop distributed content on the site of Skara Brae. This UNESCO
World Heritage Site is a major tourist attraction but also a significant schools education
resource. Situated in the relatively remote Northern Isles of Orkney, Historic Scotland wish
to look at using 3D as a particular added value resource in the creation of tourism and
education products. The costs and business case for doing this are being investigated by
CMC, while Historic Scotland are considering its future potential both for revenue earning
and also as an education resource. In effect, the new distribution media combined with rich
content is changing the business model of this heritage organisation.
1.5 Readiness for market
Key to assisting the emerging markets for creative industries using 3D is development of
robust standards in content capture and post-production formats using interoperable,
standardised metadata. Content providers need to ensure that their content is acceptable
to potential clients and vice versa. This is, of course, exactly the same request that archive
organisations are making, so there is a natural convergence on standards that 3D-ICONS
have promoted in our Business Model.
Although commercial markets for 3D models do exist, their norm at present is project-based
with a bias to creating new content as required. At an individual project level the
effort, need for case by case innovation and the sheer variety of end formats possible for
each model currently produced generally make them uneconomic for multiple sales.
Production processes and formats need to become standardised, and end quality needs to
be assured, for production to become more economical and for the sale proposition to
improve.
The same pattern can be found for 2D digital resources in the past. Over the last 20 years,
there has been an enormous investment in digital content across Europe but there has
been significantly less effort in commercialising it. Some of the base line content, individual
source images for instance, have emerged into the public domain but only in specific
sectors of the creative industries, whereas much of the rich value added content
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animations or interactive information has not migrated forward onto current digital
platforms such as iPads and smart phones. Much of this material is now in danger of being
lost to public and commercial use.
1.6 Movement between markets
There has been some debate as the 3D-ICONS Business Model has developed about how
easy it is to move cultural heritage material acquired and developed within a research
framework on towards a creative commons not for profit agreement distribution
agreement. For some organisations even this level of public release has not been easy
and, in some cases, content was lost to the project and had to be replaced from other
heritage sources. That this happened fairly widely underlines the difficulties in getting
heritage organisations to move towards greater distribution of their assets. That 3D-ICONS
was able in the end to persuade so many organisations to place content in Europeana has
in itself resulted in a significant shift in perception as to the importance of public access to
3D assets. At the same time this public access has itself helped shifted professional
opinions on the importance of 3D data from technical research that was not a heritage
organisation’s responsibility to a lasting public resource that needs to be properly archived.
Taking the next step of establishing business to business commercialisation agreements
for content that is currently only released on a not-for-profit basis and no derivatives is
likely to be even more challenging. We can expect quite a number of organisations to
simply not have the appetite for the increased administration, even if they are on the
lookout for some additional income. This remains the norm for a very large proportion of
Europe’s 2D creative content which is available only on a not-for-profit no derivative basis,
meaning that much of Europe’s USP Content is, or is perceived to be, out of bounds to our
own creative industries. The potential for and cost of post processing in 3D is so great that
this is a much more serious block on the development of 3D assets than it is for 2D.
Participants from within the creative industries attending The Future of ICT for Creativity
and Creative Industries Workshop agreed that this reluctance to release content for
commercial development is impeding the growth of ‘for profit’ SMEs in the sector. At a
European level more cultural content needs to be made available on a ‘for profit’ basis, to
allow the resulting derivatives to be revenue generators. For this to happen, there is a
need on all sides for a trusted market place. SME’s in the creative industries need an easy
point of access to content a well as successful business and rights management models.
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In the argument for or against greater commercialisation the way that 3D survey and post-production
work is funded must be taken into account. At present, the majority of such
work is funded through grants, either from the European Union or other public sources. A
large proportion of these grants filters into Universities or Research Institutes with no
requirement for their projects to make any profit. There is, in these cases, no push to try to
make money, or in some cases even to distribute what has been experimented with and
produced. Despite the time and effort expended, and money spent, not all models are
therefore required to be complete – let alone fit for purpose in terms of supplying an end
user, be that for profit or otherwise. One of the few forces for greater standardisation of
agreements and content has been the requirements of Europeana to make as much
cultural content available as possible. A future phase within the development of Europeana
in support of Europe’s Creative Industries should perhaps address the question of a library
of commercially licensed 2D and 3D material. A shift of perception is required so that:
 If money has been awarded from government sources then any models produced
should be of sufficient quality to be made accessible to end users and be made
publicly accessible;
 The core purpose of the funding may not be to make profit but should not preclude
a cultural heritage organisation from attempting some cost recovery as an add-on
activity.
In the case of the first point, it is beyond debate that public money should result in benefit
for all. As regards the second point, how heritage organisations regard their societal role to
help others create profit is changing. The dramatic recent release of license restrictions on
their content by the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, indicates that this is possible.
While current thinking on how 2D and 3D cultural heritage content might be used and on
what basis is starting to change, the scale of production of 3D content within Europe
remains a limiting factor. In terms of technology exploitation, one recommendation has
been to connect SMEs and micro-SMEs in the creative industries with heritage
organisations and developers of new and emerging volume scanning technologies, such
as those begun under 3D-COFORM and taken forward by the Fraunhofer and others.
Fundamental to such an approach is the 3D-ICONS Business Model in which funding is
only made available if the resulting content is released in such a way that commercial
development and derivatives are allowed – at least for European SMEs. The experience
of 3D-ICONS suggests that this is not going to be a simple concept for heritage
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organisations to agree to individually – but, if led at a European level, such a seismic shift
may be possible.
Globally, the creative industries are currently dominated by large US multinationals who
are often gatekeepers to information and critical data needed by smaller creative industry
players. Europe’s strength is in content and we need to use that to force more open
European licenses and standards. As 3D-ICONS has found, there is an appetite for such
initiatives and some heritage organisations would welcome a European lead. During 2013,
DISC has worked in conjunct ion wi th the Ci t y of Der r y Cul turetech
(http://2014.culturetech.co/) and FabLab (http://fablabni.eu/) in an initiative to explore the
area of innovation within the digital creative sector. Shaun Whorisky carried out an artist in
residence programme (http://culturetechinresidence.blogspot.co.uk/) where he explored
how 3D data captured by DISC could be used in a range of products, for example 3D
printing and augmented reality.
The Future of ICT for Creativity and Creative Industries Workshop suggested that more
creativity and more experimentation is both needed and possible. Creativity has become
democratised and it is easier for everyone – prosumers, artists, technology developers,
and creative companies to collaborate and be creative and daring in developing new tools
- which might also turn out to be relevant for main stream actors. New digital technologies
should empower smaller players to make a difference – small universities & research
institutes as well as companies and prosumers. An example is rapid prototyping which
means an acceleration in production processes further reducing the time to market for new
ideas.
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Part 2: IPR & Licensing Schemes
2.1 Distribution, Access and Control
The goal of the 3D-ICONS project has been to establish reliable processes for the
production of 3D models, with a specific remit to contribute them to Europeana. There has
been considerable focus not just on producing quality models, but also on ensuring that
they may be subsequently made publically available. While metadata release has always
achieved Europeana standards as a minimum, levels of distribution, access and control of
the 3D models and metadata have varied. Copyright and the IPR that surround the use of
cultural heritage content has been much debated during the course of the project and
remains an issue. The 27 countries making up the European Union have diverse IPR
legislation, with additional strong regional differences within some of those countries. The
result is substantially different legal systems and business practices as well as a rich set of
legal languages, which makes a standardised approach to sales contracts and licences
complex and challenging. The IPR Scheme (D7.2) attempted with some success to stand
back from the legal detail and outline in plain English and diagrams the procedural
requirements necessary if 3D content was to flow from content provider to 3D producer to
distributor.
The emphasis in D7.2 was to establish best practice in releasing content via Creative
Commons and on to Europeana. The emphasis in this deliverable is to explore the
importance of allowing and promoting the generation of derivatives for initial data. This is
not just about promoting a commercial market place for 3D material. We would like to see
scanning projects leading to a wide range of derivative material that is also released for
public use, but we recognise that the cost of generating these derivatives is many times
greater than the cost of scanning and that a route to commercial returns is likely to be
needed.
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3D-ICONS - D7.4: Report on Business Models

Whilst a number of potential markets have been identified in this report, within these
markets it is the 3D post-production entrepreneurs who are essential to a vibrant 3D
assets market. The challenge in coming years will be to find ways in which to engage with
them and to develop the content produced through cultural heritage projects. Many of
these entrepreneurs work as individuals or in micro SMEs. On their own they are unlikely
to succeed in creating a vibrant market for their 3D products. If SME’s in the creative
industries can release their content through an easy point of access without having to
review legal agreements each time, then the potential for revenue generation upon which
they depend can be released. Content providers have a role in enabling the flow of content
whilst also receiving a realistic share of revenue to ensure their own survival. The future of
ICT in this sector is to help bring new and exciting products to market and to improve
access to markets for all. Post-production ‘creatives’ would also benefit from retaining the
imprimatur of cultural heritage organisations to provide visibility and reputation – giving
them an incentive to lodge the new derivatives they create with the original content
releasing organisation. Portals such as Europeana represent one route to the market place
but a project to test the commercial market for 3D models could test the wider response of
different markets to the proposition of using 3D models and could help to establish clearer
areas of potential.
The need for partnerships, both intra sector and cross sector, will therefore remain
significant for attracting funding, stimulating development and disseminating content to end
users. The benefits are amply demonstrated in European projects such 3D-COFORM and
3D-ICONS where partners not only benefit from shared expertise but also the exposure
that their work receives across the European cultural sector.
2.2 The 3D-ICONS IPR Scheme
As introduced in Part 1 of this report, for cultural heritage content to be released
successfully and systematically on a not-for-profit or for profit basis Cultural Heritage
organisations need to take a combined and simplified approach to IPR and licensing. D7.2,
the Report on IPR Scheme, identified that at present 3D-ICONS project partners employ a
wide range of different licensing arrangements when it comes to distributing their material,
responding to national law as much as institutional habit. In some cases, there is also a
lack of understanding and fear about how to protect commercial rights adequately.
The IPR Scheme proposed in D7.2 has attempted to address some of these issues and to
provide a common scheme that partner organisations can adopt, confident that their
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interests are protected. Many partners have already adopted the scheme, at least in
principle, though the need to take more local legal advice is a further step in the process.
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The focus of the scheme has been the common objective of project partners to place 3D-Entities
and 3D-Details with metadata in a place where they can be accessed by the public
via Europeana and other national portals without loss of legal rights over that content. By
focussing on the common ground the scheme has been able to look past the many and
varied practices of different institutions and different countries to find an approach that can
work across the board. Key to the success of the scheme has been the clarification for
partners and content providers of the distinction between 3D-Entities, 3D-Details, content
data and metadata, allowing the development of clearer access agreements. All relevant
3D-ICONS partners have additionally signed up to Europeana’s Data Exchange
Agreement (DEA).
An important step in developing the IPR Scheme has been the clear expression of the
diversity and range of people and organisations involved in creating 3D-Entities, a creative
process that results in the generation of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). The later
processes of the Activity Chain (post processing and commercialisation) are far more
specialised and creative than the earlier phases which are dominated by controlled access
rights (not IPR) and relatively automated processes of factual recording. Consequently, it
is the later processes of model generation and post-processing of models that require
greatest investment and also generate the most clearly documented IPR. This is important
in terms of recognising that while the Content Providers may control access it is the later
processes that have the highest costs and greatest IPR.
There are multiple benefits of achieving a level approach to IPR and licensing. For the
organisation providing content, less time is spent re-negotiating contracts every time
material is sought for external use and distribution of 3D material can start to be factored
into economic planning. For the end user, the benefit is ease of access and freedom to
explore the potential of 3D material beyond what has perhaps been possible so far. For
both sides there is clarity about what is and is not permissible and reassurance that
contracts support the rights and needs of both.
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Part 3: Cost Analysis & Sustainability
3.1 Cost Benefit Analysis
Digitisation of heritage objects is a complex operation with a series of interconnected
steps. Each process has its own cost structure that can vary greatly depending on the
particular circumstances of the project. Any cost analysis needs to take into account the
true range of resources being deployed and the full range of benefits that eventually
accrue. Generally expenditure will fall into one or more of three categories; internal 'soft'
expenditure, internal 'hard' expenditure and expenditure on or by external third parties or
contractors. Only once each step in the digitisation process has been assessed will the
apportioned total costs incurred on a project be apparent and can any apportioning of
effort and credit be possible.
All organisations as they look at this sort of audit tool will adapt it to their own
circumstances. Heritage organisations might, for instance, wish to maximise 'soft'
expenditure and to allow for the effort they put into maintaining sites and collections. Sub-
Contractors working on post-production may want to offset some of these soft costs by
allowing research and educational use of their processed 3D models. One benefit of a
more open system of auditing production costs might be more mutually beneficial and
transparent agreements between the consortiums involved. End users and distributors
could also feel confident that there is tracking of the key players in content generation and
those who want to provide further derivatives know who to approach for what aspects of a
set of rich 3D models.
As noted different organisations will adapt this tool to their own situation, but as a basic
guide here are some exemplar definitions.
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Internal 'Soft' Expenditure
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Allowance for relevant and related activities carried out to maintain and permit access now
or in the past to sites and artefacts, most commonly by heritage organisations. Where
used, this might include past research and photography. Likewise, any new effort by
existing staff and volunteers would be grouped here.
Internal 'Hard' Expenditure
Costs incurred over and above normal activities of the heritage organisations are
accounted for in this category, and include such items as additional staff, hardware and
training.
External Third Party/Contractor
The commissioning of external organisations to provide services is provided for here and
includes consultancy, technical support and maintenance.
Some of the third party costs could be offset by providing advantageous incentives such
as profit sharing or preferential licensing agreements. This may, however, impact on the
expected share of the return of investment. Mutually beneficial partnerships may ultimately
increase the value of the return.
3.1.1 Selection and Access to Content
Choosing the subject matter for 3D modelling is a careful and significant process.
Heritage organisations might control access to a site, having both a cost or a value in this
service and also being in the position to influence licenses of subsequent 3D visualisation
reproduction rights.
Alternatively, the selection may be externally motivated, such as with a request from a film
location company to digitise an historic site. In this instance, partnership with the governing
body would ensure a fair exchange for both parties.
In any event establishing the 'soft', ‘hard’ and third party value associated with selection
and access needs to be gauged. This might vary depending on the ‘brand value’ of the
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organisations involved. Larger organisations might have internal marketing systems in
place that could provide this, for others it would be a matter of calculating how much of the
day-to-day activity is consumed.
3.1.2 Assessment and interpretation
Understanding the context and content of what is to be surveyed and modelled is a
significant task that should inform many stages of the modelling process.
As stewards of sites and collections, heritage organisations are charged with maintenance
and monitoring. This activity might form part of the 'soft' category of costs.
The technical jobs of digitisation and post-processing will require consultation with third
party service providers.
3.1.3 Acquisition
Once the active process of acquisition is reached costs are more apparent and easily
tracked.
The action of acquiring raw digital data could range from terrestrial laser scans to
gathering crowd sourced images. Acquisition can be costly and while project specific
formats may be cheaper, these often have limited range and could potentially exclude
additional future revenue opportunities. Acquisition for the widest possible use naturally
maximises future prospects. The negotiation of licensing fees in exchange for digitisation
would be an affordable way to limit risk for both parties.
3.1.4 Processing
Data will often require 'developing' in order to make it useful to a wider audience. In many
cases those acquiring the data will also process the information. Where this is not the
case, or where future licensees require access to raw data, maintaining suitable rights is
very important.
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Creative Commons licensing can be utilised to provide non-commercial usage to
educational bodies, boosting public awareness without compromising commercial
opportunities.
3.1.5 Post-processing
Post-processing is the manipulation of the 'developed' data for specific use such as digital
publications, visualisation and site management. Like processing, the task of post-processing
can be supplied by non-commercial partnerships. It can also be a re-usable
resource. If the initial acquisition has a broad enough scope then the data can be re-purposed
for a variety of outputs. Maximising the usefulness of digital raw materials is
important step in future proofing content and gaining the maximum return.
3.1.6 Cost Benefit Analysis
Depending on the desired outcome of a project the primary drivers could be a soft return,
enhanced social profile, or hard revenue generating through licensing and sales.
Ultimately, digitisation could be profitable in each category, with increased public
awareness of the subject, costs to the heritage organisation balanced either though grant
funding or sales revenue, and the private creative industries rewarded in their efforts.
3.1.7 Sample Project – Skara Brae
CMC working in partnership with Historic Scotland undertook to develop the digital archive
relating to the neolithic site of Skara Brae. A breakdown of each of the five sections follows
with a brief note of explanation. The project incorporated data from Historic Scotland's own
archives, the archive at the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of
Scotland (RCHAMS), the Scottish 10 project and CMC's own collection of materials.
1. Selection.
Internal 'Soft' Expenditure: 70%
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Internal 'Hard' Expenditure: 25%
3rd Party: 5%
Notes: Skara Brae is an iconic and well documented site, the majority of effort in the
selection process would be drawn from existing works.
2. Assessment.
3rd Party: 10%
Notes: A survey of the existing digital content needed to be carried out, as this would not
normally be part of the day-to-day activities additional budget would be required. External
professional advice was also secured at this stage.
3. Acquisition.
3rd Party: 70%
Notes: Acquisition of the 3D laser scan data required the most effort. This was secured
through partnership with Scottish 10 who granted a non-commercial license to CMC.
Additional costs were incurred digitising original hard copies of archive materials.
4. Processing.
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3rd Party: 70%
Notes: CMC incurred the majority of the costs relating to the processing of the data.
5. Post-processing.
3rd Party: 90%
Notes: CMC occupied the lead role in preparing the digital materials, all of the 3D content
required extensive development.
Cost Benefit Analysis
Internal 'Soft' Benefit: 80%
Internal 'Hard' Benefit: 5%
3rd Party: 15%
Notes: The projects greatest benefit will be the gathering and cohesive cataloguing of all
the Skara Brae related materials. Development of a demonstrator application showcasing
the benefits of such a scheme highlighted these benefits and aims to secure additional
funding. Further commercial development of the assets into a full educational package or
visitor attraction would significantly raise the potential for revenue generation.
3.2 Towards sustainability
Integral to future development of the 3D assets of heritage sites and artefacts is providing
appropriate development rights for post-processing by third parties. Incentivising access
with suitable licensing agreements would generate cost effective acquisition of source
data.
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Breakdown of Effort by Activity CETI CAAI CNR DISC FBK CMC
Selection 2% 0% 3% 0% 2% 1%
Assessment, Acquisition Planning 9% 2% 10% 8% 5% 3%
Acquisition, Imaging 15% 32% 10% 21% 12% 8%
Data Processing 55% 32% 43% 14% 27% 28%
Post-processing, Optimisation 5% 33% 17% 48% 46% 55%
Metadata Management 14% 1% 17% 9% 8% 5%
As shown in the above examples processing and post-processing of the data carry the
greatest cost burden. These are essential tasks in preparing content for user consumption.
Traditionally this risk is carried by SME's when licensing images, but with the higher costs
associated with 3D, few publishers can afford such risk without suitable agreements in
place.
This is not just about 3D-ICONS, though it will need to be covered here too. It is about
ensuring that the diverse range of added value activity that can take place with sets of 3D
data are in the best possible position to take place.
With few exceptions, heritage organisations lack the funds to fully develop a wide range of
digital assets. It is, therefore, essential to establish robust access and license agreements
that protect the cultural interests of organisations and finance their digitisation with minimal
state support. Adopting inclusive methodologies with respect to metadata and sharing the
existence of digital materials with Europeana provides for a wider audience and could
potentially attract future revenue opportunities.
There is a need to future-proof content through the use of non-proprietary file formats and,
where possible, follow industry standards in the storage and processing of primary data.
The keys to a sustainable programme of digitisation and on-going post processing are
therefore:
1. reduction of hard costs through effective management
2. maximising re-usability through best practice
3. beneficial licensing of content
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Part 4: Models of Best Practice
4.1 Current best practice
The 3D-ICONS best practice methodology is the shared work practice of all the 3D-ICONS
partners. It is being used to document over 160 European monuments and produce over
3000 3D models for dissemination through Europeana. As each of the partners overcome
their own challenges, their processes are amalgamated into the general practice.
Important common impediments have been addressed such as the complexity of rights
management and the technical challenges relating to visualisation.
The following examples highlight the diverse nature of the projects within 3D-ICONS and
illustrate the potential for diversity in the market place.
Example 1: Skara Brae – CMC and Historic Scotland
Historic Scotland scanned the Neolithic site of Skara Brae as part of a larger digitisation
project, prior to involvement in 3D-ICONS. The scope of the original project related solely
to the acquisition of the primary data. Within 3D-ICONS, CMC negotiated for access to not
only the scan data but also significant amounts of other digital content including
contemporary and archive photography. By processing the materials into a more user
accessible format and publishing the results on Europeana, CMC are exploring the 'ready
for market' process, in particular the development of end user applications.
Example 2: The Paestum Project – FBK and the University of Salerno
Working with the University of Salerno, the Bruno Kessler Foundation (FBK) is digitising
the classical ruins of the city of Paestum in Italy. To facilitate such an ambitious project,
they have developed a multi-disciplinary educational experience that operates via an
annual summer school project. Involving all aspects of heritage and tourism such as
conservation, archaeology, digitisation and visualisation, the project provides invaluable
training and produces high quality 3D materials under a creative commons licence.
The first example highlights the opportunities that could be opened for SME's by the
implementation of suitable licensing structures. Awareness of and access to high quality
digital media could provide the impetus for the creative industries to engage with the
cultural sector. The second example demonstrates creative management of cultural sites
through partnerships with academic institutions and private enterprise. The result is a
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significant benefit in terms of social awareness, enhanced education and the affordable
digital preservation of an ancient city.
4.1.1 Volume of Data
One important element provided for within the 3D-ICONS business model is its ability to
cope with significant volumes of data. Channelling content from multiple partners and
tracking the progress of each step was orchestrated by online management tools. This
emphasised the importance of efficient content management systems that accurately
reflect the aims of the project. The table below displays the number of objects digitised and
subsequently processed in each semester of the project.
Semester* # Objects # Models
1 712 121
2 106 237
3 375 428
4 580 655
5 698 555
6 251 695
*Source: Orpheus Project management tool.
4.1.2 Rights Issues
Recommending the use of Creative Commons as a license structure by which project
partners could release their content greatly simplified the initial contacts stage for many in
the project. Out of the fourteen creative partners, nine have opted for the Creative
Commons set of licenses. Of the other five, although pre-existing restrictive licenses were
already in place, the materials were released to Europeana utilising the Paid Access rights
statement. The 3D-ICONS model has been instrumental in ensuring that each partner has
established clear rights statements and that the potential for commercialisation exists for
much of the content.
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4.1.3 Metadata
3D material is a content rich resource that draws from a wide range of source materials
and produces a complex family of derivatives. Quality metadata is essential in order to
provide public access to this material in an intelligent fashion.
The importance of correct metadata structures has been subject to extensive project-wide
discussions. 3D-ICONS is looking to produce over 10,000 metadata records that describe
3D objects and their supporting images.
3D-ICONS also expanded on the CARARE Metadata schema and developed CARARE2
to specifically meet the needs of the 3D ICONS project by enabling information to be
captured about the provenance of 3D objects. In addition to the simplification of many of
the records the main changes are:
 The scope of the Heritage Asset has been broadened to include printed materials,
archives and born-digital objects relating to the archaeological and architectural
heritage.
 Digital Resource has been simplified to focus on the type, format and location of the
online resource.
 Heritage Asset becomes mandatory; there must be at least one in each CARARE
object. It remains mandatory to include at least one digital resource in each
CARARE object.
 The rights statements have been simplified and metadata rights clarified.
 Provenance has been added to Heritage Asset.
 Elements for types of relations from heritage assets, digital resources and activities
have been specified for clarity.
Working within the CARARE2 framework, 3D-ICONS has developed a compliant web-based
tool for the efficient entry of metadata records to Europeana. An automatic
validation tool was included and ensured that only complete records were submitted for
ingestion each month.
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Image: Screenshot of the 3D-ICONS metadata entry tool.
4.1.4 Accessible Digital Storage
Another potential issue for many aggregators of 3D data is the requirement for long-term
storage. Rather than just a server to host GB's of data, useful storage must also be
supported by a searchable front end. 3D-ICONS established an online repository to meet
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the needs of its partners. The 3D-ICONS Portal has mapped the necessary metadata
elements to the Europeana EDM and includes additional paradata fields, which can cover
the processes and equipment used to create the 3D model and related digital content. The
portal allows users to supply content to Europeana without the additional burden of
building and maintaining their own on-line repository.
Image: Screenshot of the 3D-ICONS Portal
3D-ICONS portal: http://3dicons.ceti.gr
4.2 Future best practice
The implementation of industry compliant standards for the acquisition and storage of
digital content would provide a valuable benchmark for heritage organisations to assess
the value of their data. It would also widen their potential markets and open opportunities
in the commercial sector.
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The publication of recommended intellectual property guidelines for heritage organisations
and for creative industries would encourage fair commercialisation of the digital assets and
attract funding from the private sector. The digitisation of privately owned, historically
significant buildings could also be included through appropriate non-commercial licensing
for the heritage sector. Local councils who permit commercial surveying could offer more
favourable terms for industries that partake of approved licensing structures.
Fair non-restrictive copyright should be an aid to the stimulation of the growth between the
creative industries and the heritage sector. It would incentivise SME's to engage with
heritage organisations, thereby reducing the cost of acquisition, and provide affordable
digital content for the wider community.
Finally, portals such as Europeana would encourage new projects to consider their activity
in the wider context. Their data could contribute to the overall wealth of European cultural
heritage and simultaneously attract new revenue opportunities. Working to an EU standard
would not only future proof the results for the next generation but would also create a
commercially viable library of digital materials.
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Part 5: European Legal Context
5.1 Introduction
The European legal system is notoriously complex with a plethora of distinct national and
local regulations and practices, as indicated previous sections of this report and as set out
in D7.2. However, there is increasing Europe-wide harmonisation driven by European
Union Directives from Brussels which stands to be implemented at the national level.
Relevant examples of these are listed in D7.2 including the long-standing Database
Directive.
This report focuses attention first on the 2013 EU Directive which is aimed directly at
public sector information resources in libraries, museums and archives, and in which the
specific mention of Europeana indicates its importance in the eyes of Brussels &
Strasbourg. Second, three selected new projects are reviewed with potential for improving
the opportunities for economic growth and job creation; their prospects could be enhanced
by the results of 3D-ICONS. Third, the general global scene and EU Political, Media &
Public Opinion roles indicate the broader context. Fourth, projected EU Legislation trends
and scenarios over a five year horizon illustrate the inherent levels of uncertainty, and a
final section provides conclusions.
5.2 New EU Legislation for Digital Cultural Content
Of especial importance is the very recent Directive of 26 June 2013, Directive 2013/37/EU
(of the European Parliament and of the Council) amending that of ten years previously,
Directive 2003/98/EC on the re-use of public sector information. The key relevant aspects
are summarised as follows:
- It extends the scope of the previous Directive to include ‘libraries, including
university libraries, museums and archives’ [Article 18].
- The new Directive took force as of mid-July 2013. All member states are required to
implement it by 15 July 2015. [Article 2 amendment]. It will be reviewed in 2018.
- Recognising the ‘huge potential’ of ‘digital public domain material’ in ‘sectors such
as learning and tourism’ the Directive has as a key aim the ‘creation of conditions
conducive to the development of Union-wide services’ (i.e. ‘cross-border’).
Moreover, ‘wider possibilities’ are indicated for ‘Union companies to exploit its (i.e.
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cultural heritage material information resources including metadata) potential and
contribute to economic growth and job creation’. [Article 15]. Furthermore, Article 18
specifically mentions ‘mobile products’. Article 19 again emphasizes ‘job creation
and growth’.
- Article 33 is especially relevant and significant and so is cited in full: ‘ Since the
objectives of this Directive, namely to facilitate the creation of Union-wide
information products and services based on public sector documents, to ensure the
effective cross-border use of public sector documents on the one hand by private
companies, particularly by small and medium-sized enterprises, for added-value
information products and services, and on the other hand by citizens to facilitate the
free circulation of information and communication.’
- Europeana’s importance is emphasized in Article 19 as is the twice repeated
reference to ‘online accessibility of cultural material and digital preservation’ citing
the European Parliament’s resolution of 5 May 2010, the Commission
Recommendation [2017111/EU] and the [European] Council’s Conclusions of 10
May 2012. Citing the three pinnacles of European Union authority of Parliament,
Commission and Council this Article indicates the political commitment and
reinforces this aspect with ‘These documents define the way forward for dealing
with the legal, financial and organisational aspects of digitising Europe’s cultural
heritage and bringing it online’.
- Especially significant including reference to IPR issues is Article 19, which has a
notable exclusion: ‘Other types of cultural establishments (such as orchestras,
operas, ballets and theatres), including the archives that are part of those
establishments, should remain outside the scope because of their ‘performing arts’
specificity. Since almost all of their material is covered by third- party intellectual
property rights and would therefore remain outside the scope of that Directive,
including them within the scope would have little effect’. Interestingly, Cinema & TV
are not mentioned specifically, nor are the ‘Creative & Cultural industries’ although
there is mention of SMEs.
- Considerable attention is paid in the amended Directive to pricing/charging issues
by museums, archives and libraries as well as pre-existing corresponding public
private partnerships and the need for appropriate transition period measures noting
again differing conditions in the various EU countries. [Articles 22 – 26].
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This new Directive thus represents a major effort to capitalize in socio-economic terms
(including job creation) on the potential of public cultural assets in ‘education, work and
leisure’ [Article 19] with regard to the ‘Single Market’, thus justifying European Union level
action. In particular it tries to address challenges and opportunities involved in the
development of derivative products and services for both not-for-profit and for profit
purposes while still respecting the rights of the respective cultural heritage institutions.
Its implications are potentially very significant, including added value work and high value
new recording in 2D and 3D by and with Creative Industries which will, however, involve
significant investment and operational costs of creation with new IPR for derivative
products and services. As soon as Creative Industries are involved then corresponding
new IPR and monetary value thus created will need to be tracked – perhaps often non-exclusively
licensed to the heritage organisation, and even sometimes wholly assigned to
the heritage organisation. Resulting profits should be shared (ideally ‘equitably’), perhaps
in an analogous manner with the Database Directive. However, the Directive notes that
there are substantial differences in corresponding Legal & IPR Practices & Trends
between member states.
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5.3 Key Relevant European Projects
Europeana has already been emphasized in the preceding sections of this report. The
important Europeana Strategy 2015 -2020 Impact report1 makes no specific mention of
legal aspects or IPR. However, Licensing facilitation is mentioned, referred to implicitly.
5.3.1 Europeana & Europeana Space
Rather than discuss the general Europeana thrusts here, we focus on the new EU Best
Practice Network, EUROPEANA SPACE led by Sarah Watley & Tim Hammerton of
Coventry University (COVUNI) assisted by the Italian Technical Coordinator, Promoter
srl., Antonella Fresa. This project on ‘Spaces of possibility for the creative re-use of digital
cultural content’ has very promising pragmatic aims and approach which are squarely
centred on the EU priorities of economic growth and job creation.
EUROPEANA SPACE will explore six selected Creative Industries sub-sectors: TV,
Photography, Dance, Games, Open and Hybrid Publishing, Museums. As stated on
the project web site, the pilot projects will be a means to explore different scenarios for the
re-use of digital cultural content, with a special focus on the re-use of the content
accessible via Europeana. The project is well described in its web-site so here we will just
1 Europeana Strategy Impact Report. Some selected extracts.‘The fourth group that can benefit from Europeana is the
large and diverse set of industries commonly referred to as the creative industries: publishers who make books on arts,
culture, heritage or travelling guides, journalists looking for historic information, artists and designers doing their
research, and game or app developers who can benefit from the accessibility of content and metadata.’ [ Page 8]
‘Market failures prevent private companies and individuals from materialising potential welfare gains. There are
a number of reasons as to why private incentives fall short of achieving the socially desirable investments in (linking and
disclosing) databases -- cultural heritage. Europeana works in this regard because: E u r o p e a n a r e d u c e s
transaction costs (costs of uncovering or finding heritage and cultural information and possibly of licensing content to
third parties). This creates spill - over effects for creative industries, app developers, consumers, creative industries and
scholars using/looking for heritage content. Benefits accrue for numerous users, while due to transaction costs that may
be high compared to individual benefit, these users or beneficiaries cannot (always) be charged and will not reach co-ordination
in their investment decisions.’[Page 9] Cost-benefits from Europeana for the Creative Industries sector
are indicated [See Figures 4 & 5] but do not appear to have been assessed in detail. Even in the early 2014 EC –
organized Creative Industries Workshop legal and IPR aspects were not considered in depth.
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emphasise one aspect of its plan which is of particular relevance to 3D-ICONS and
necessarily should include attention to Legal and IPR issues:
‘Monetizing Workshops: 6 monetizing workshops will be organized in London in the period
between April 2016 – September 2016’.
The first EUROPEANA SPACE Conference in Venice in October 2014 should provide an
excellent opportunity for 3D-ICONS to participate and benefit regarding its own exploitation
planning and post-project follow-through.
5.3.2 CRe-AM
Another highly relevant new EU project is CRe-AM (http://www.cre-am.eu/) led by Brunel
University, London. CRe-AM, Creativity Research Adaptive roadMap, like EUROPEANA
SPACE, is also focused on the Creative industries, but as its full title indicates aims to
develop specific sub-sector Roadmaps over the course of its two years duration from
October 2013 to September, 2015. It has selected seven Creative Industries areas for
specific attention, art, videogames, music, e-publishing, design, architecture and new
media. There are clear opportunities for synergy with EUROPEANA SPACE especially
regarding the latter’s overlapping interest in ‘Games, Open and Hybrid Publishing,
Museums’ as is presumably a part of the EU strategy.
CRe-AM, Creativity Research Adaptive roadMap, has already been very active in forming
a large network – initially over 200, including some 3D-ICONS partners - and in developing
an appropriate methodology, including Futures Forecasting. The methodology has been
already piloted in a number of workshops, including recently at the 25th Anniversary of the
EVA London Conference in July 2014 at the British Computer Society office in Covent
Garden, London, as well as now on-line. The project web-site provides considerable
further information.
It is useful to compare the areas selected by these two projects with the more complete
one publicised by UNESCO (and others) and used for example in Germany2:
2 http://www.unesco.de/fileadmin/medien/Dokumente/Bibliothek/culture_and_creative_industries.pdf [Page
1 7 ~ 2 0 0 4 G i v e f u l l r e f i n f ]
http://www.unesco.de/fileadmin/medien/Dokumente/Bibliothek/culture_and_creative_industries.pdf See also:
http://www.kulturwirtschaft.de/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/DE-CCI2011-shortversion.pdf for the 11 Sectors
from Page 2, Figure 1.
40

1 Music Industry
2 Book Market
3 Art Market
4 Film Industry
5 Broadcasting Industry
6 Performing Arts Market
7 Architectural Market
8 Design Industry
9 Press Market
10 Advertising
11 Software & Games
12 ‘Other’ including Libraries, Museums & Archives
The Architecture Sector appears to be a promising target for post-project 3D-ICONS
follow-on developments. Notably, the interesting Singapore model not only has enriched
the international development of ideas but also indicated how the Rise of the Far East is
developing with its telling emphasis on ‘Copyright Industries’3.
5.3.3 Inter-regional ‘eCulture Cloud’ Initiative
Cloud Technologies are a key topic in Horizon 2020 and there are already a number of R &
D projects on ‘Cultural Heritage Clouds’. We consider here one relevant new additional
inter-regional approach led from Germany which has an ambitious government national
2020 Digital Strategy Plan containing ‘eCulture’ as one of its seven main pillars. The
inclusion of this pillar has been largely due to the efforts of the Hamburg City/Land Ministry
of Culture which had already produced its own ‘eCulture Strategy’ towards 2020.
3 http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/files/29669/11370847883MICA_-
_Economic_Contribution_Singapore_2003.pdf/MICA%2B-%2BEconomic%2BContribution%2BSingapore%2B2003.pdf
41

Multimedia Legal aspects have been a key area for Hamburg. One of Hamburg’s current
priorities is ‘eCulture Cloud’ in partnership with Florence and London with inter-regional
aims and scope at both German and European levels. This topic was the subject of a well-attended
and productive workshop at the annual EVA Florence Conference in May 2014.
This issue was then also selected as one of the key topics for working group sessions at
the July 2014 Summer School for Senior German Executives held in London at
Ravensbourne & Birkbeck, University of London. The Europeana Deputy Director &
Business Development Director, Harry Verwayen, attended as a special guest.
This Hamburg/London/Florence work is expected to lead to the core of a Consortium
proposal for EC funding, including Social Media, but in any case the three current partners
wish to continue in this direction and other cities appear interested. Of note is that two of
the Florence and London institutions involved had an interest in 3D COFORM and a third,
Ravensbourne, is especially strong in 3D Cinema, a special session on this being held at
the eCulture July 2014 Summer School in London.
5.4 Global considerations and emerging new IPR-relevant legislation
vis-a-vis corresponding political, media & public opinion factors across
Europe
The international political scene appears fraught with dangers, from on-going conflict in the
Middle East and the possibility of a new Cold War emanating from the Ukraine to the
uneasy situation in the Far East. However, there are positive forces such as UNESCO
efforts led by Florence activists to mount a renewed campaign focused on Ethics, with
direct relevance for IPR and digital cultural heritage systems in the 3D image area as well
as 2D. This is specifically relevant to 3D-ICONS with its focus on UNESCO World Heritage
sites.
Another powerful force is the increasing Convergence of the Media Sector as technology
continues to sweep forward. Although Murdoch’s $80 billion bid for Time Warner has failed,
it will doubtless not be the last such attempt to combine ‘Content’ with ‘Distribution’ and the
ever rising dominance of Amazon, Google, Netflix, Buzzfeed etc. The position is worrying
European Policy makers, as evinced at the July 2014 Council of Europe Conference4 in
Bakhu, Azerbaijan, which included discussion of Europe’s Public Service Broadcasters
including even the BBC, the latter still embarrassed by the failure of its £100 million Digital
4 Confidential reports from a participant.
42

Media Initiative [DMI] ending with its lead supplier, Siemens, paying a £20 million penalty.
Nonetheless, the BBC and, increasingly it is expected, other European Public Service
Broadcasters, are pressing on with ever-higher levels of public engagement – ‘Prosumers’.
Intense interest in 3D may have waned as regards TV, as recognized at the major
international 3D Summit held in March 2014 in London, but Cinema 3D is still strong and
3D Printing continues to rise with interesting prospects for 3D-ICONS but with serious
potential legal and IPR issues and difficulties in abundance.
As noted in section 5.1, Directive 2013/37/EU sensibly avoids the dangerous waters of
copyright law problems, as for example in the Performing Arts area, by just focusing on re-use
of public sector information in Libraries, Museums & Archives. However, even this is
not anticipated to be a trivial exercise as signalled by EUROPEANA SPACE’s decision to
leave ‘Monetizing Workshops’ until 2016.
The July 2014 televised UK debate in the House of Lords, while cognisant of EU
developments, included considerations of the need to push ahead with challenges and
opportunities for both economic growth and new jobs posed by new technologies such as
the Cloud and the threats to privacy, security and the need for assistance to Creative
SMEs. In addition to the evident issues regarding differing EU/national situations there are
also grounds for concern as regards the differing national/regional hierarchies of laws and
regulations EU-wide. Similar considerations may be expected at the Hamburg City/Land
level and doubtless elsewhere across the EU.
As regards IPR & relevant Legal trends it appears that the frequent ‘See-Saw’ or Cyclic
effect is moving to another ‘swing’ in which ‘User-Creators’ may well have the upper voice
compared with Industry, quite different from the scene some 20 years ago when major EC
projects such as IMPRIMATUR were engaged in the struggle. This swing is affected by the
new technologies themselves in Social Media such as Facebook, Twitter and Blogging
which have proved influential in such wider political developments as in the Arab Spring
and may be expected to raise the momentum for increasing ‘prosumer/citizen
producer/creator rights’.
5.5 Short to Mid-Range EU IPR & Legal Trends & Scenarios
The general trend as of mid-2014 for the next few years appears likely to be characterized
not only by increasing ‘top-down’ pressure from the EU Commission, Council and
Parliament on national governments regarding Directive 2013/37/EU implementation, but
43

also by ‘bottom up’ citizen and micro-SME entrepreneurial demand. The latter not only
legally facilitated ‘access’ to the rich European heritage assets via Europeana and other
channels but also for their creative usage including for business development and job
creation, ideally with world markets. IPR/Copyright issues will become increasingly
important as the perceived opportunities for corresponding commerce and profits become
more attractive.
Three EU IPR/Legal scenarios for the next five years are presented below as a discussion
framework for 3D-ICONS:
Scenario 1 – Optimistic: Directive 2013/37/EU is rapidly implemented across most of the
EU and leads to substantial unlocking of entrepreneurial dynamism for socio-economic
and cultural benefits with thousands of firms and tens of thousands of new high value jobs
by 2019. In addition there are positive knock-on effects in related areas in which copyright
is crucial to protect creative rights with even greater impact. The major US companies do
not succeed in capturing the lion’s share of these new markets. Widespread use of 3D is
facilitated by new ‘glasses-free’ technologies.
An optimistic use case scenario might be that ‘Prosumer’ children and schools crowd
resource ‘Lego-type’ 3D printable ‘units’ of Edinburgh’s World Heritage Centre for unit
printing, assembly and educational use anywhere in the world by 2017 using 3D-ICONS
technology and IPR processes etc. transferred from 3D-ICONS. Lego itself benefits from
the increased demand for the wider market appeal for the ‘authentic’ products especially in
the BRICS and MINT countries and notably in the booming 2018/2019 Africa and does not
invoke copyright laws.
Scenario 2 - Pessimistic: There are widespread difficulties in getting productive take-up
of Directive 2013/37/EU across the EU in this time-frame due to protectionist ‘Special
Case’ reasons in many countries. There are similar problems for copyright intensive areas
such as in the Performing Arts except for the well-resourced international majors. Few jobs
are created. 3D even in cinema starts to tail off in 2015 and the next general ‘upswing’ only
begins in 2019.
Scenario 3 - Intermediate: Somewhere between these two ‘extremes’.
44

5.6 Conclusions
The European legal framework for regulating technology is undergoing dramatic shifts as
law-makers in the legislative and executive arms of governments at EU, national and even
‘local’ (e.g. German Länder) levels are becoming increasingly ‘techno-savvy’, as
exemplified by the EU 2013/37 Directive and parliamentary debate on such new
technologies as the Cloud. Media coverage and an ever-rising technophile creative public,
including artists and ‘prosumers’, reinforces this trend. The implications for more ‘IPR
freedom’ are significant. However, whether a single initiative will be enough to reverse the
old adage of ‘Law (Regulations) follow well behind Technology’, with powerful international
technology-based giants driving advances, is still open to debate.
In particular for the subject matter of 3D-ICONS, pragmatic advances in the corresponding
3D IPR-Pipeline processes need to be reinforced by additional efforts, including improved
copyright protection by 3D electronic watermarking according to some experts in the field.
The debate will doubtless continue but further government measures and schemes can be
expected including ones to assist in the struggles to improve European capabilities versus
the global giants in the Searching/Finding/Uncovering/Accessing field for new high value
derivative products and services (resulting EU 2013/37 Directive and further measures)
from across a widening set of increasingly converging media as technology drives forward.
Encouragingly, there are positive examples by leading museums such as the Netherlands
Rijksmuseum. However, the current5 furore regarding the London National Gallery’s non-
King Canute decision to bow to the inevitable ubiquitous role of mobiles by allowing
‘selfies’ by the general public including shots of masterpieces by Rembrandt, Van Gogh
and others, indicates the passions which are aroused by the ‘desecration’ of cultural
temples.
References
EUROPEANA 2020 http://pro.europeana.eu/documents/858566/640ac847-0dfc-4b01-9f36-d98ca1212ec9
EUROPEANA 2015 2020 Impact Report http://pro.europeana.eu/documents/858566/0610b04a-8100-4c8a-8043-
114515001043
5 Guardian, August 16, page 7.
45

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