Response to the 2018 Sarr-Savoy Report: Statement on Intellectual Property Rights and Open Access relevant to the digitization and restitution of African Cultural Heritage and associated materials

• Author: Mathilde Pavis - Andrea Wallace
• Position: Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom - Lecturer in Law, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
• Pages: 115-129

Response to the 2018 Sarr-Savoy Report

2019

115

2

Response to the 2018 Sarr-Savoy Report

Statement on Intellectual Property Rights and Open Access

relevant to the digitization and restitution of African Cultural

Heritage and associated materials

by Dr Mathilde Pavis and Dr Andrea Wallace

© 2019 Mathilde Pavis and Andrea Wallace

Everybody may disseminate this ar ticle by electronic means and make it available for download under the terms and

conditions of the Digital P eer Publishing Licence (DPPL). A copy of the license text may be obtain ed at http://nbn-resolving.

de/urn:nbn:de:0009-dppl-v3-en8.

Recommended citation: Mathild e Pavis and Andrea Wallace, Statement: Response to the 2018 Sarr-Savoy Repor t, 10 (2019)

JIPITEC 115 para 1.

25 March 2019

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1

This response challenges the recommendations

made by the Sarr-Savoy Report to systematically

digitize and make available online as “open access”

all of the African Cultural Heritage designated for

restitution. Instead, we write to acknowledge the

complex issues regarding intellectual property rights

and open access policies around these materials,

and we call on the French Government to dedicate

further resources to researching and co-developing

digitization solutions with African communities of

origin. Accordingly, we advise against adopting the

Report’s blanket recommendations on digitization

and open access for many reasons:

•

First and foremost, the Report’s

recommendations, if followed, risk placing

the French Government in a position of

returning Africa’s Material Cultural Heritage

while retaining control over the generation,

presentation, and stewardship of Africa’s Digital

Cultural Heritage for decades to come.

•

Second, and related to this, the validity of

intellectual property claims in certain digital

materials and the implementation of open

access policies are contested and subject to

increasing global legal and social controversy.

In France, open access to digital heritage

collections is almost nonexistent, thus the

French Government should refrain from taking

any position that creates a double standard

by requiring African Cultural Heritage to be

digitized and made available when the same

demands are not made of its own national

institutions.

•

Third, restitution must not be conditioned

upon any obligations to allow the digitization

of materials held in France and open access

commitments. Such decisions around digitization

(including the waiver of any rights for open

access purposes) are cultural and curatorial

prerogatives. Accordingly, they must be made

by African communities of origin, as they impact

how heritage may be represented, preserved,

and remembered. African communities must

therefore enjoy full autonomy in devising any

access strategies for restituted material and

digital cultural heritage.

•

Finally, attempts to truly decolonize French

institutions of African Material Cultural

Heritage must carry through to the treatment

of archival and digital materials, including those

remaining in France. Digital heritage today is

as important as material heritage and should

be thoughtfully considered and fully integrated

within future restitution policies and collections

management. The restitution of African Digital

Cultural Heritage therefore cannot be treated

as an afterthought. With this in mind, France

should consider the opportunity to aid African

communities in this process, both practically and

nancially, alongside other forms of reparation.

2 For these reasons, we urge the French Government

to pursue further research and consultation with

the key stakeholders around these issues prior to