Marine Science Museum On October 27, 2012, a Creative Commons Licensing workshop was held at the Museum of Natural History, Inc. for students and the Museum's curatorial staff. Since this museum, which houses Japan's only 18-meter-long pygmy blue whale full-body skeletal specimen, will close its doors to the public in October 2024, in December of the same year, in order to document the state of its display, the representatives of the Roadside Museum Trustee ・Director Kento Mori and Trustee ・Kazuki Saito, Fujinokuni Global Environmental History In March 2013, we jointly created 3D data of skeletal specimens in response to a proposal from Ms. Tomomi Watanabe of the Fujinokuni Museum of Earth's Environmental History. This workshop was held to deepen understanding of the rules and concept of copyright in considering how to release the 3D data. The three mentioned above served as Junior Associate Professor and about 30 students taking curatorial courses and curators participated.
In opening the lecture, Director Tsukasa Murayama (School of Marine Science and Technology Professor) said, "In recent years, how to record and preserve materials and specimens has become increasingly important, and there are many unclear points regarding the handling of 3D data and copyrights, so we planned this workshop to learn from experts. We hope that the lessons learned at this workshop will be useful in our daily activities. In his lecture, Mr. Watanabe explained that the Museum Law, which has been in effect since FY2011 after the first revision in about 70 years, clearly stipulates digital recording of museum materials as a museum's business. He introduced the risks involved in releasing digital archives to the public, such as copyright infringement, and the "Creative Commons License" (CC License), which indicates the conditions of use of copyrighted materials with a mark. Next, Mr. Mori, who is working on a roadside exhibition using 3D printed replicas, took the stage with the aim of creating an opportunity for museum visitors to visit the museum. He pointed out that museums are raising the hurdle for access to their materials, and said, "Digital archiving can help solve this problem. He added, "Under Japanese law, it is not clear whether digital archives of specimens based on natural objects are subject to copyright. Individuals and organizations holding the data need to carefully consider how to release it to the public," he called for. In the workshop that followed, Mr. Saito led participants in groups to discuss how to release 3D data on pygmy blue whales using the CC license. Various opinions were exchanged, including whether or not the data should be clearly marked for exhibition, whether or not it should be used for commercial purposes, and restrictions on modification. In addition, Mr. Saito presented the 3D data of the pygmy blue whale, and the students were guided by the curator to see the actual skeletal specimen on display at the museum.
A participating student said, "I would like to be involved in museum work in the future, so it was a valuable experience for me to exchange opinions with curators," and "In the curatorial course, I learned how to create archives, and this time I took a course on copyright issues for digital archives. I learned how to create an archive in the curatorial course, and this time I took a course on copyright issues for digital archives.
