Rights and Reproductions Associate

ABOUT THE LUCAS MUSEUM OF NARRATIVE ARTAs the first museum to focus exclusively on storytelling through images, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art believes that visual storytelling can connect us and help shape a more just society. With a growing collection that encompasses artworks from across cultures, places, times, and mediums, including paintings, sculptures, murals, photography, comic art, book and magazine illustrations, and the arts of filmmaking, the Lucas Museum will explore narrative art’s potential to prompt questions, invite opinions, inspire community, and move people to think about the impact of images on our world. Co-founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson and led by director and CEO Sandra Jackson-Dumont, the Lucas Museum was designed by renowned architect Ma Yansong of MAD Architects with Stantec as executive architect and is under construction in Los Angeles’s Exposition Park. An 11-acre campus with extensive new green space designed by Studio-MLA will embrace the museum’s 300,000-square-foot building, which will feature expansive galleries, two state-of-the-art theaters, and dedicated spaces for learning and engagement, dining, retail, and events. www.lucasmuseum.org.
POSITION SUMMARY
As part of the Editorial & Publications department and reporting to the Senior Rights and Reproduction Specialist, the Rights and Reproduction Associate manages processes, procedures, and activities regarding intellectual property rights for the museum’s collection, exhibitions, marketing, communication, publications, public programs, merchandising etc. Working closely with other departments, the Rights and Reproduction Associate helps in researching and securing permissions for images and other digital content, resolves issues surrounding copyright and intellectual property, and retains appropriate documentation for crediting and attribution, primarily pertaining to the museum’s collection. The Rights and Reproduction Associate will work with the Senior Rights and Reproduction Specialist on licensing museum-generated materials to third parties for all media including images, text, film, and other audiovisual work.
This is an important role as Lucas Museum staff prepares for the opening of the museum to the public by partnering across departments to support exhibitions, publications, programs, and retail.
This position is a two-year term position.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Responds to correspondence related to intellectual property rights and reproductions
• Assists with copyright approval between copyright holders, its representatives, and requestors
• Collaborates on the development, implementation, and maintenance of a rights data management system based in The Museum System (TMS) and the museum’s Digital Asset Management System (DAMS)
• Updates and maintains database of activities related to internal and external copyright and permissions including status, purpose, expenditures, approvals, expiration date and procedures of renewal
• Helps develop and document best practices to protect the museum from liability and maintain expertise in copyright law and IP best practices
• Assists in updating existing rights records to meet appropriate standards
• Helps guide museum staff to learn copyright basics
• Responsible for helping secure Non-Exclusive License agreements for new museum acquisitions
• Works with Legal Counsel to review rights, reproductions, and intellectual property clauses
• in all museum contracts and consults with the Senior Specialist and Legal on issues that require escalation
• Liaises with other museum departments as needed for clearing images using permissions
• Conducts research to determine intellectual property rights status, including copyright and third-party rights, for all works in the museum’s collection as well as works on loan
• Works with the registration team to prioritize and coordinate collections photography
• Provides proper image caption/credit lines for all shared images

CORE COMPETENCIES