QUOTE(GMaxwell)
Many people are uninformed on the matter and don't realize the enormous harm that would be caused were the NPG allowed to arbitrarily seize the copyright on works hundreds of years old, and they don't recognize that there are ways to fund museum work which are fair and proportional and don't involve robbing our descendants by privatizing antiquities. It isn't widely understood that NPG's legal theories are suspect even under UK law and that in the US their copyright assertions are, quite possibly, criminal.
Ridiculous.
This emphasises precisely why Wikipedios don't understand the bigger picture of what constitutes Private ownership and Public Ownership, or what constitutes Free. Let alone what those terms mean in the UK where a high profile war has been raging about keeping British Galleries free for years, as opposed to place like the Louvre which charge around 10 Euro.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/polit...ree-453620.htmlQUOTE
Steve Sinnott, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, reacted angrily to the idea of rolling back free admission and said that the effect on children in particular could be disastrous.
"Free access means that every child can benefit from the treasure chest contained within museums regardless of the depth of the parental pocket," he said.
"History, art, geography, so many subjects are enlivened by being able to go to a museum and see and touch the exhibitions. To reintroduce charges will restrict these opportunities and will make the learning of these subjects a less rich experience."
Tessa Jowell, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, denounced Mr Swire. She said: "This would be a seriously regrettable step if the Tories were to go down this road. It would be unpopular and would penalise people from all walks of life.
"Our national museums and galleries perform an enormously useful role for families across the United Kingdom and it's right that admission to them should not be limited simply to those who can pay. In cultural policy terms it's one of the most significant achievements we have made and one of which I am most proud."
But despite the government grants that have enabled museums to cut their entry fees many national museums are still finding it hard to make ends meet, particularly as their income has not been rising as fast as staff costs and inflation.
Protecting galleries and museums should be a high priority for everyone wishing to promote Free Access. And by that I mean
real Free Access - not breaking into a gallery's website security and stealing a bunch of reproductions.