When you are looking to digitise material, you must first establish what kind of copyright your material has and what kind of license you will need to use it.
When establishing what kind of copyright your material has, you should ask yourself the following questions:
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What is the material’s publication status (published or unpublished)?
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When was the material published?
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Who is the author?
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Is the author still living?
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Was the material created with commercial intent?
All of these factors can impact your copyright situation. Though each bit of material has its own unique circumstances, there are some general rules of thumb, like the seventy years rule. In the UK, copyright generally expires seventy years after the author dies, or seventy years after first publication, depending on the exact circumstances.
Other considerations:
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Your own position: if you are affiliated with an institution, they might have its own copyright guidance and support with licensing. There are some limited copyright exceptions for museums and archives which are worth exploring at this point in your digitisation project. More information on exceptions for museums and archives can be found in this government document.
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The potential audience: If your final output is intended for a public audience, as in the case of digital exhibitions, or for re-use, like with a textual corpus, that might require a different license than if the digitisation is intended for personal research uses. More information on exceptions and audience for copyright can be found in this government guidance page.
