Italian Ministry of Culture's new decree opens the door for scientific publications

"In Italy, the use of images of cultural heritage in the Public Domain is still subject to heated debate. This blog post provides an update on the situation, presenting a recently adopted ministerial decree, which facilitates the use of such images in scientific publications. While the decree is a step in the right direction, it is not a complete turnaround. In many parts, it still reflects an antiquated, highly bureaucratic approach that values control over Open Access.

Particularly the Ministry of Culture still favours a system of prior authorisation and monetisation of reproductions of cultural heritage works not just for commercial uses. The Chairman of the Standing Advisory Committee on Copyright pro-tempore, an advisory body to the Italian Ministry of Culture, for instance, has publicly expressed misgivings about unrestricted free reuse for fear of losing control over image uses...."