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21. Rights Metadata

Rights-related metadata has become increasingly important, and feedback to the IPTC from the news industry pointed to the need for a more granular design of applying <rightsInfo> to the item and/or content.

The IPTC has taken over responsibility for the management of the ACAP (Automated Content Access Protocol), the publisher-led project to develop tools for the communication of copyright permissions information on web sites. As a next step a news content specific Profile for Open Digital Rights Language (ODRL) version 2.0 has been defined, branded RightsML, which identifies those features of ODRL 2.0 that can most usefully be employed in news syndication and defines additional vocabulary for expressing the usage permissions and constraints that are particular to the news industry. RightsML enables a wide range of usage policies to be expressed in NewsML-G2. See the RightsML web site www.rightsml.org for further details.

While the NewsML-G2 <rightsInfo> wrapper and its properties are machine-readable, the assertion of rights within the NewsML-G2 properties is expressed in natural-language terms. However, the Extension Point of <rightsInfo> enables properties from another namespace to be added, and this would include ODRL and the RightsML Profile. A description of this implementation is outside the scope of these Guidelines.

Machine-reading of <rightsInfo> by a processor is targeted at being able to determine the following:

To which element(s) inside an item does a specific <rightsInfo> wrapper apply? (rights holder’s view)
Which is/are the <rightsInfo> wrapper(s) that apply to a specific element? (content user’s view)

21.1. Rights Info - core implementation

The <rightsInfo> wrapper has child elements of

accountable (0..1) The person responsible for legal issues regarding the content (in some jurisdictions)
copyrightHolder (0..1) The person or organisation claiming intellectual property ownership of the content
copyrightNotice (0..unbounded) The formal statement claiming the Intellectual Property Ownership (IPO)
usageTerms (0..unbounded) A natural-language statement of how the content may be used.
dataMining (0..1) An expression of permissions or prohibitions of using the content in data mining operations.

21.1.1. A simple Rights Expression example

<rightsInfo>
    <copyrightHolder qcode="nprov:AcmeNews">
        <name>Reuters</name>
    </copyrightHolder>
    <copyrightNotice>Copyright 2025 Reuters. Click For
        Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
    </copyrightNotice>
    <usageTerms xml:lang="en">NO ARCHIVAL OR WIRELESS USE</usageTerms>
</rightsInfo>

21.1.2. Link to an external Rights Information resource

A provider may need to refer to an external resource containing rights information and instructions. This can be accomplished using the <link> element of <rightsInfo>:

<rightsInfo>
    <copyrightHolder uri="http://www.acmenews.com" />
    <copyrightNotice>Copyright 2025 Acme Newswire</copyrightNotice>
        <link
            href="http://acmenews.com/rights/rightspolicy123.xml"
            contenttype="text/xml"
        />
</rightsInfo>

21.1.3. Expression of Data Mining rights using the <dataMining> element

Data mining permissions and constraints may optionally be expressed using the dataMining element, using the recommended vocabulary of values defined by the PLUS Coalition at https://ns.useplus.org/LDF/ldf-XMPSpecification#DataMining. The following examples illustrate its use:

Simple case

        <rightsInfo>
                <dataMining qcode="plusvocab:DMI-PROHIBITED-AIMLTRAINING"/>
        </rightsInfo>

Complex case

In a more complex use case, the Data Mining property references the content of the Usage Terms property.

        <rightsInfo>
                <usageTerms>
                        Data mining allowed for non-commercial purposes only.
                </usageTerms>
                <dataMining qcode="plusvocab:DMI-PROHIBITED-SEECONSTRAINT"/>
        </rightsInfo>

Complex case with multiple languages

        <rightsInfo>
                <usageTerms xml:lang="en">
                        Data mining allowed for non-commercial purposes only.
                </usageTerms>
                <usageTerms xml:lang="fr">
                        «Data mining» est autorisée uniquement à des fins non commerciales.
                </usageTerms>
                <dataMining qcode="plusvocab:DMI-PROHIBITED-SEECONSTRAINT"/>
        </rightsInfo>

Example using RightsML

The Data Mining property value references the contents of a RightsML expression.

        <rightsInfo>
               <rightsExpressionXML langid="http://www.w3.org/ns/odrl/2/">
                        <!-- Insert RightsML here... -->
                </rightsExpressionXML>
                <dataMining qcode="plusvocab:DMI-PROHIBITED-SEEEMBEDDEDRIGHTSEXPR"/>
        </rightsInfo>

Note that in the above examples, the @qcode may be replaced with a @uri attribute.

21.2. Advanced Rights Information implementations

More advanced Rights metadata may be added to <rightsInfo>:

By asserting rights separately to different parts and/or different aspects of the NewsM-G2 Item, for example by separating rights to the metadata from the content rights.
By using <rightsExpressionXML> and/or <rightsExpressionData> to assert rights using other rights expression languages and encodings.
Via the Extension Point to <rightsInfo>, but only as an XML-encoded structure.

21.2.1. Asserting separate rights to parts or aspects of an Item

Business Reasons

Business users potentially need to assert different rights to different parts of a News Item. For example, a photo library may not own the copyright to a picture, but does want to assert intellectual property ownership of the keywords (i.e. the metadata). This leads to the need to distinguish between rights to the content, and rights to metadata, or parts of the metadata. End users need a simple mechanism for addressing a whole group of XML elements as being governed by a <rightsInfo> expression.
Implementers need a clear set of rules for expressing rights to XML elements identified by an @id. The <partMeta> wrapper is an existing NewsML-G2 construct for this purpose and in order to have a consistent processing model, the <rightsInfo> wrapper expresses rights via <partMeta> to the target element, rather than directly to the target element.

Expressing Scope and Aspect properties of <rightsInfo>

Two attributes enable implementers to define the scope of a rights expression and assert the aspect of the intellectual property rights that are being claimed:

scope; (0..1), QCodeListType; allows a provider to indicate whether the rights expression is about the content, the metadata, or both. If the attribute is not present then<rightsInfo> applies to all parts of the Item. There is a mandatory NewsCodes scheme for the values, see below. The CV contains two values: "content" and "metadata".
aspect; (0..1), QCodeListType; allows the provider to assert rights to a specific intellectual effort. In terms of metadata, this can express rights to the actual metadata values used, and/or it can express rights to the work in applying metadata values. @aspect also enables providers to assert rights to the structure of content, for example the structure of a package of news. If the attribute does not exist then <rightsInfo> applies to all aspects. There is a mandatory NewsCodes scheme for the values, see below. The CV contains three values: "values", "selection" and "structure".

The optional @idrefs attribute is defined as:

"Reference(s) to the part(s) of an Item to which the <rightsInfo> element applies. When referencing part(s) of the content of an Item, @idrefs must include the @partid value of a partMeta element which in turn references the part of the content."

Rights Info Scope NewsCodes

Scheme URI: http://cv.iptc.org/newscodes/riscope/
Recommended scheme alias: riscope

Code	Definition
content	Encompasses all child elements of a) <contentSet> in a News Item, b) <concept> in a Concept Item, c) <conceptSet> in a Knowledge Item and d) <groupSet> (except all children of <itemRef>) in a Package Item. Any parts of content which are described by <partMeta> elements are also included.
metadata	Encompasses all child elements of an item, except a) those that are in the scope of the 'content' scope indicator and b) all children of <itemRef> elements in a Package Item.

Code

Definition

content

Encompasses all child elements of a) <contentSet> in a News Item, b) <concept> in a Concept Item, c) <conceptSet> in a Knowledge Item and d) <groupSet> (except all children of <itemRef>) in a Package Item. Any parts of content which are described by <partMeta> elements are also included.

metadata

Encompasses all child elements of an item, except a) those that are in the scope of the 'content' scope indicator and b) all children of <itemRef> elements in a Package Item.

Rights Aspect NewsCodes

Scheme URI: http://cv.iptc.org/newscodes/riaspect/
Recommended scheme alias: raspect

Code	Definition
values	The <rightsInfo> element makes an assertion about metadata values including the details of concepts. This aspect applies only to the Rights Info Scope of “metadata”.
selection	The <rightsInfo> element makes an assertion about selecting and applying metadata values or selecting and applying item references in a Package Item. This aspect applies a) to the Rights Info Scope of “metadata” and b) to the Rights Info Scope of “content” for Package Items.
structure	The <rightsInfo> element makes an assertion about the design of the structure of the content, e.g. the structure of a Package Item. This aspect applies only to the Rights Info Scope of “content”.

Code

Definition

values

The <rightsInfo> element makes an assertion about metadata values including the details of concepts. This aspect applies only to the Rights Info Scope of “metadata”.

selection

The <rightsInfo> element makes an assertion about selecting and applying metadata values or selecting and applying item references in a Package Item. This aspect applies a) to the Rights Info Scope of “metadata” and b) to the Rights Info Scope of “content” for Package Items.

structure

The <rightsInfo> element makes an assertion about the design of the structure of the content, e.g. the structure of a Package Item. This aspect applies only to the Rights Info Scope of “content”.

21.2.2. Use cases for @scope and @aspect

Separating rights for "content" and "metadata"

A photo library sends a customer a picture. The Intellectual Property (IP) in the picture itself (the content) is owned by a third party. The photo library wants to assert the rights to the metadata that accompanies the picture. This is expressed by the following <rightsInfo> blocks:

<newsItem>
    ...
    <!-- Content: Third Party -->
    <rightsInfo scope="riscope:content">
        <copyrightHolder>
            <name>Example Pictures</name>
        </copyrightHolder>
        <copyrightNotice>Copyright 2025 Example Pictures Ltd. Click For
            Restrictions - http://about.example.com/legal.asp
        </copyrightNotice>
        <usageTerms xml:lang="en">MUST COURTESY PARAMOUNT PICTURES
            FOR USE OF "THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON" WITH NO ARCHIVAL USE
        </usageTerms>
    </rightsInfo>
    <!-- Metadata: Photo Library -->
    <rightsInfo scope="riscope:metadata">
        <copyrightHolder>
            <name>The Picture Library</name>
        </copyrightHolder>
        <copyrightNotice>Copyright 2025 The Picture Library Ltd.
        </copyrightNotice>
    </rightsInfo>

Separating rights for part of the metadata

The photo library sends a third-party picture (the content), but wishes to express rights to only a specific part of the metadata. The properties representing this part are identified by @idrefs, and the scope has been omitted, since the targets are the values of the specific referenced elements.

<newsItem>
    ...
    <!-- All: Third Party -->
    <rightsInfo>
        <copyrightHolder>
            <name>Example Pictures</name>
        </copyrightHolder>
        <copyrightNotice>Copyright 2025 Example Pictures Ltd. Click For
            Restrictions - http://about.example.com/legal.asp
        </copyrightNotice>
        <usageTerms xml:lang="en">MUST COURTESY PARAMOUNT PICTURES
            FOR USE OF "THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON" WITH NO ARCHIVAL USE
        </usageTerms>
    </rightsInfo>
    <!-- Part of the Metadata: Picture Library -->
    <rightsInfo idrefs="id001 id002 id003 id004 id005">
        <copyrightHolder>
            <name>The Picture Library</name>
        </copyrightHolder>
        <copyrightNotice>Copyright 2025 The Picture Library Ltd.
        </copyrightNotice>
    </rightsInfo>
    ...
    <contentMeta>
        ...
        <keyword id="id001" role="ex-krole:index">us</keyword>
        <keyword id="id002" role="ex-krole:index">military</keyword>
        <keyword id="id003" role="ex-krole:index">aviation</keyword>
        <keyword id="id004" role="ex-krole:index">crash</keyword>
        <keyword id="id005" role="ex-krole:index">fire</keyword>
        ...
    </contentMeta>
    ...

Separating rights for aspects of part of the metadata

The photo library sends a third-party picture (the content), expressing rights to part of the metadata. Since the IP of the scheme being used belongs to another party, the picture library expresses its ownership of rights associated with applying the metadata to the picture, and also acknowledges the Scheme Authority’s rights to the code values themselves.

<newsItem>
    ...
    <!-- All: Third Party -->
    <rightsInfo>
        <copyrightHolder>
            <name>Example Pictures</name>
        </copyrightHolder>
        <copyrightNotice>Copyright 2025 Example Pictures Ltd. Click For
            Restrictions - http://about.example.com/legal.asp
        </copyrightNotice>
        <usageTerms xml:lang="en">MUST COURTESY PARAMOUNT PICTURES
            FOR USE OF "THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON" WITH NO ARCHIVAL USE
        </usageTerms>
    </rightsInfo>
    <!-- Part of the Metadata Values: Another Party -->
    <rightsInfo idrefs="id001 id002" aspect="riaspect:values">
        <copyrightHolder>
            <name>International Press Telecommunications Council</name>
        </copyrightHolder>
        <copyrightNotice>
            Copyright 2025 International Press Telecommunications Council.
        </copyrightNotice>
    </rightsInfo>
    <!-- Part of the Metadata Selection: Picture Library -->
    <rightsInfo idrefs="id001 id002" aspect="riaspect:selection">
        <copyrightHolder>
            <name>The Picture Library</name>
        </copyrightHolder>
        <copyrightNotice>Copyright 2025 The Picture Library Ltd.
        </copyrightNotice>
    </rightsInfo>
    ...
    <contentMeta>
    ...
        <subject id="id001" type"cpnat:abstract" qcode="medtop:20000106" />
        <subject id="id002" type"cpnat:abstract" qcode="medtop:02000000" />
    ...
    </contentMeta>
...

Expressing rights to different parts of content

A news agency sends a text article (the content) that includes a substantial extract of content owned by another party. The overall rights to both the content and metadata of the article are expressed using a <rightsInfo> wrapper with no attributes. The rights owned by the third party to the extract are "carved out" by using a separate <rightsInfo> wrapper that references the extract within the article via <partMeta>:

<newsItem>
    ...
    <!-- All: News Agency -->
    <rightsInfo>
        <copyrightHolder>
            <name>Example News</name>
        </copyrightHolder>
        <copyrightNotice>Copyright 2025 Example News Ltd. Click For
            Restrictions - http://about.example.com/legal.asp
        </copyrightNotice>
        <usageTerms xml:lang="en">
            REGIONAL PRESS ONLY. NO BROADCAST OR WEB USE
        </usageTerms>
    </rightsInfo>
    <!-- Part of the Content: Another Party -->
    <rightsInfo idrefs="id001">
        <copyrightHolder qcode="nprov:reuters">
            <name>Thomson Reuters</name>
        </copyrightHolder>
        <copyrightNotice>Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.
        </copyrightNotice>
    </rightsInfo>
    <contentMeta>
    ...
    </contentMeta>
    <partMeta partid="id001" contentrefs="p001"/>
    <inlineXML>
    ...
        <p>...still the aftershocks of the banking crisis continue to rumble,
        With many analysts noting big changes in the role of sovereign wealth
        funds.
        ... </p>
        <p>According to a recent special report by Thomson Reuters: <br />
        <span id="p001">"Dubai's crisis prompted a shift of power to the rulers in Abu
        Dhabi, the wealthiest of the seven states that make up the United Arab
        Emirates.Now a chastened Dubai is recovering some of its confidence as it
        seeks to convince international investors it can deliver now where last
        year it failed."</span></p>
    ...
    </inlineXML>
</newsItem>

Expressing rights to aspects of content

A news provider operates a distribution platform where third-party companies can sign up to provide their own news and information packages to the subscriber base. The platform provider has created standard package templates using NewsML-G2, which the other companies populate with their chosen topics. The provider asserts its right to the structure of the news packages, whilst the rights to the selection of the news belong to the third party, as shown:

<packageItem>
    <!-- A Package Item is a selection of references to NewsML-G2 Items organised -->
    <!-- into a structure of Groups, each with a @role, within a Group Set.  -->
    ...
    <!-- Structure: News Provider -->
    <rightsInfo scope="riscope:content" aspect="riaspect:structure">
        <copyrightHolder>
            <name>The News Provider</name>
        </copyrightHolder>
        <copyrightNotice>
            Copyright asserted to the structure of the package<groupSet>
        </copyrightNotice>
        <usageTerms xml:lang="en">
            Usage terms in natural language
        </usageTerms>
    </rightsInfo>
    <!-- Selection: Third Party -->
    <rightsInfo scope="riscope:content" aspect="riaspect:selection">
        <copyrightHolder>
            <name>The News Selector</name>
        </copyrightHolder>
        <copyrightNotice>
            Copyright asserted to the selection of the Item References.
        </copyrightNotice>
        <usageTerms xml:lang="en">
            Usage terms in natural language
        </usageTerms>
    </rightsInfo>
    <!-- Metadata: News Provider -->
    <rightsInfo scope="riscope:metadata">
        <copyrightHolder>
            <name>The News Provider</name>
        </copyrightHolder>
        <copyrightNotice>
            Copyright to the package metadata asserted here.
        </copyrightNotice>
    </rightsInfo>
    ...
    <groupSet root="root">
        <group id="root" role="ex-group:root" mode="pgrmod:bag">
            <groupRef idref="grp1" />
            <groupRef idref="grp2" />
        </group>
        <group id="grp1" role="ex-group:main">
            <itemRef ...>
            ...
            </itemRef>
            <itemRef ...>
            ...
            </itemRef>
        </group>
        <group id="grp2" role="ex-group:sidebar">
            <itemRef ...>
            ...
            </itemRef>
            <itemRef ...>
            ...
            </itemRef>
        </group>
    </groupSet>
</packageItem>

Note that the rights expressed about the package content selection and structure are NOT inherited by the Items referenced by the package in each <itemRef>.

21.2.3. Using other machine-readable rights expression languages

XML-serialised rights expressions <rightsExpressionXML>

The optional element <rightsExpressionXML> may be repeated within the <rightsInfo> wrapper and indicates a rights expression as defined by a rights expression language and serialised using XML encoding. The mandatory @langid identifies for the rights expression language using a URI.

Other serialised (non-XML) rights expressions <rightsExpressionData>

<rightsExpressionData> is also an optional, repeatable element indicating a rights expression encoded using any non-XML serialisation and qualified by two mandatory attributes: @langid uses a URI to identify the rights expression language, and @enctype identifies the type of encoding (for example JSON). The IPTC recommends that this is expressed using an IANA Media Type.

21.3. Processing models for extended Rights Info

Please see the Rights Information chapter of the NewsML-G2 Specification at www.newsml-g2.org/spec and also www.iptc.org/standards/rightsml