Copyright issues

Berlin has special archives that are of considerable importance not only historically but also politically, especially in present times. The Sound Archive of the Humboldt University of Berlin and the Berlin Phonogramm-Archiv (hereafter BPhA) contain voice recordings from the beginning of the twentieth century as well as sound recordings from prisoner of war camps of the German army in World War I and World War II. These recordings can be described as rather "sensitive" (Timurgalieva et al. 2015:34). They are, thus, archives with the earliest sound recordings in Europe. This can play an important role particularly in view of the discussions about looted art and the restitution of works of art that came to Germany in connection with the colonial period. The unique shared history of the Sound Archive and BPhA in the context of the recording activities of the Phonographic Commission from 1915 to 1918 will create opportunities for cooperation (Humboldt n.d.b). Legal aspects are becoming increasingly important in the context of the possible use of the recordings with a view to further, future university research and teaching as part of the culture of remembrance (Humboldt n.d.c). For these reasons, it is also worth taking a look at the copyright assessment of these recordings.