The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is in dispute with a US-based Wikipedia volunteer who downloaded more than 3,000 high-resolution images from the London institution's website.
The gallery, which charges fees for the use of high-resolution images, has spent £1m on digitisation and has put about 60,000 images online.
An NPG statement said it was "concerned that potential loss of licensing income from the high-resolution files threatens its ability to reinvest in digitisation". The NPG made £339,000 from reproduction rights in 2008/09.
The NPG's lawyer, Farrer & Co, sent a letter to the Wikipedia volunteer, Derrick Coetzee, on 10 July. Coetzee's lawyer responded on 20 July. The NPG is now deciding how to proceed.
The gallery, which charges fees for the use of high-resolution images, has spent £1m on digitisation and has put about 60,000 images online.
An NPG statement said it was "concerned that potential loss of licensing income from the high-resolution files threatens its ability to reinvest in digitisation". The NPG made £339,000 from reproduction rights in 2008/09.
The NPG's lawyer, Farrer & Co, sent a letter to the Wikipedia volunteer, Derrick Coetzee, on 10 July. Coetzee's lawyer responded on 20 July. The NPG is now deciding how to proceed.
