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C&RL News,
March 2007
Vol. 68, No. 3
by David Hodgins
The concept of copyright is
an integral part of U.S. culture and law. From its inclusion in the U.S.
Constitution to the recent passages of several key acts, such as the Copyright
Term Extension Act and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, copyright has
continued to grow and evolve as advances in technology change the way we store
and transmit information. As ink and paper are replaced by bits and bytes and
classrooms move into cyberspace, the issue of copyright has never been more
relevant to individuals who work in libraries, archives, classrooms, etc. While
the legislative and judiciary bodies scramble to keep up with the rapid pace of
changing technologies, information professionals will need to actively work to
stay current with copyright laws, guidelines, and best practices as they relate
to the services they provide.
The resources presented here offer librarians, educators, and other information
professionals a wide range of information on copyright from the introductory, to
the practical, to the philosophical. There is no shortage of resources on the
Web that tackle this thorny issue; a comprehensive listing of Internet
resources, and the related issues of intellectual property and digital rights
management, could easily consume volumes. The challenge is finding resources
that are well designed, current, and authoritative without bogging the reader in
legalese or jargon. The following Web sites are just a slice of some of the
better resources one will find when researching the topic.
Accessing and interpreting guidelines
and law
• CONTU Guidelines on Photocopying under
Interlibrary Loan Arrangements. Interlibrary loan services rely
in part on CONTU’s (National Commission on New Technological Uses of Copyright
Works) guidelines for reproducing copyrighted works. The guidelines specify
criteria such as the amount and frequency of reproductions and the proper way to
document transactions. Access:
http://www.cni.org/docs/infopols/CONTU.html.
• U.S. Code Collection.
Title 17 covers U.S. copyright law. Section 108 should interest all information
seekers as it grants rights that are fundamental to the operation of libraries.
The code is searchable by keyword (Boolean operators and wildcards are
supported) as well as title and section.
Access:
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/.
• Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
The text of the bills from the Library of Congress.
Access:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c105:H.R.2281:. DMCA is a hotly
debated topic; for a long, but fairly objective background and summary of the
law, see the U.S. Copyright Office’s text of the Executive Summary.
Access:
http://www.copyright.gov/reports/studies/dmca/dmca_executive.html.
• Library Digitization Projects &
Copyright. Analysis and interpretation of copyright law from
attorney (and former librarian) Mary Minow. Minow provides information on major
issues such as public domain, permissions, and fair use. Her explanations are
clear and her analysis draws on everyday scenarios and examples. Note the
extensive footnoting as she provides links to many of the resources she cites.
Access:
http://www.llrx.com/features/digitization.htm.
• The TEACH Toolkit. An
in-depth look at the TEACH Act by North Carolina State University. The TEACH Act
is composed of complex sets of requirements and circumstances that are made
considerably more palatable by the TEACH Toolkit. The toolkit provides basic and
expanded checklists and a “best practices” for incorporating TEACH in the online
classroom. Access:
http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/scc/legislative/teachkit/.
•
United States Copyright Office.
The law and policy section of the site conveniently provides PDF and TXT
versions of Title 17 and recent legislation. In addition, well-designed fact
sheets, brochures, and circulars are available for printing. There is also a
link to recent/pending legislation and updates from the Librarian of Congress.
The U.S. Copyright Office is an authority on the subject, and they are not shy
about sharing their knowledge and resources. Individuals seeking copyrights will
find comprehensive information on the registration process and links to the
necessary forms. A searchable database of existing copyright registrations and
documents (since 1978) is available, as well as information on the search
process. Access:
http://www.copyright.gov/.
Academics
• Catholic University of America,
the Office of General Council. Extensive information and
explanation of the law and current legislation. The Q&A section provides real
world examples of applying laws and guidelines.
Access:
http://counsel.cua.edu/copyright/index.cfm.
• Copyright Management Center.
A resource from Indiana University that provides information that will be useful
for beginners and veterans alike. The former should see the “Copyright Quick
guide,” which provides a brief introduction and background to copyright. The
“Fair Use” and “Permissions Information” will be of interest to the latter.
These sections contain a wealth of practical information and links to further
resources about services, such as reserves, interlibrary loan, distance
education, etc. Access:
http://www.copyright.iupui.edu/.
• Copyright Term and the Public Domain
in the United States. A useful resource for determining a work’s
copyright status. The page is part of the Cornell Copyright Information Center,
which contains a respectable number of links to internal and external copyright
resources. Access:
http://www.copyright.cornell.edu/training/Hirtle_Public_Domain.htm.
• Electronic Reserves Resources.
A collection of resources devoted to electronic reserves. Ignore the potentially
head-spinning background and one finds a healthy collection of links to
information about electronic reserves and copyright, including current policies
at several colleges and universities. Access:
http://www.mville.edu/Administration/staff/Jeff_Rosedale/.
• Stanford University Libraries:
Copyright and Fair Use. Stanford University Libraries provides
information and resources on, among other areas, the murky topic of fair use.
Note the section titled “Summaries of Fair Use Cases,” which draws upon case
history to provide real world examples of application of the law.
Access:
http://fairuse.stanford.edu/.
• The University of Texas System:
Copyright Crash Course. A highly comprehensive
resource. Don’t let the clumsy
site design fool you; buried in the various links is a treasure trove of
information, useful to individuals at all levels. There is a tremendous amount
of practical information on library services, such as reserves, interlibrary
loan, and distance education. In addition the site offers online tutorials
(organized by academic status, such as administrator, faculty, student, etc.)
and a video tutorial in Flash format.
Access:
http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/IntellectualProperty/cprtindx.htm.
Resources and policies of professional
organizations
• ALA. ALA provides
information on topics such as fair use, electronic reserves, digital rights
management, licensing, etc. Be sure to check out the “Federal Legislation”
section or you will miss other important topics like the DMCA, TEACH Act, and
orphaned works. Access:
http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOissues/copyrightb/copyright.htm.
• Association of Research Libraries (ARL).
ARL’s Public Policy page on Copyright and Intellectual Property is woefully out
of date; most of the recent links date to mid-2006 and the most recent topic in
“Recent News” is from mid-2005. There is however a fairly comprehensive coverage
of DMCA and TEACH Act, as well as links to articles in ARL publications that
address copyright. Access:
http://www.arl.org/info/frn/copy/copytoc.html.
• Copyright Advisory Network.
An ALA site designed to give librarians a place to learn about and discuss
issues related to copyright. What it lacks in content it makes up for in a
healthy serving of links to other resources. They also offer a discussion forum
where users can seek assistance from Copyright Advisory Network participants and
forum members. Access:
http://www.librarycopyright.net/.
• Copyright for Music Librarians.
A resource by the Music Library Association that contains an in-depth and
well-organized FAQ, compete with real world scenarios and examples. The
information is not limited to music or multimedia; the guidelines section covers
topics such as fair use and reserves.
Access:
http://www.lib.jmu.edu/org/mla/.
Permissions and licensing
• Association of American Publishers.
Solid information on the permissions process; they give suggestions for
implementing effective and efficient permissions processing as well as tips for
contacting rights holders. The association maintains a list of members’ names,
addresses, and (infrequently) direct contact information for rights and
permissions. Access:
http://www.publishers.org/copyright/index.cfm.
• Copyright Clearance Center (CCC).
CCC is your “one-stop shopping” site for managing copyright permissions. The
site is well organized and the search interface (which supports some BOOLEAN
operators and wildcards) is effective and easy to use. Permissions are organized
by type of use (interlibrary loan, e-reserve, course packet, etc.) and are
searchable by publication title, publisher name, or standard number (ISSN or
ISBN). Access:
http://www.copyright.com/.
•
Creative Commons (CC). CC is a
nonprofit organization that provides authors with (free) tools to manage their
intellectual property. A CC license in essence allows others to reproduce a
licensed work when they give credit to the license holder. The Web site has a
tool that generates licenses (in HTML format) based on chosen criteria.
Access:
http://creativecommons.org/.
• LIBLICENSE.
Comprehensive information about licensing digital information. The site makes
available for download a program that can be used to create licenses. The
information presented is useful not only to persons interested in developing
licenses, but to anyone looking for assistance in deciphering the language of
licensing agreements, which are often laced with legalese and unfamiliar terms.
Access:
http://www.library.yale.edu/~llicense/.
Advocacy
• Chilling Effects. A
project supported by the Electronic Freedom Frontier and law school clinics
across the country. Chilling Effects seeks to promote intellectual freedom at a
time when the threat of litigation might otherwise keep people from using new
technologies to express themselves. Their extensive FAQ section covers
additional subtopics, such as reverse engineering and anti-circumvention, hot
topics in large part to DMCA restrictions.
Access:
http://www.chillingeffects.org/copyright/.
•
Copyright Kids. A product of the
American Copyright Association that seeks to inform children about copyright.
The site includes a tutorial that uses a scenario of students creating a school
yearbook to address various copyright issues. The site is clumsy and difficult
to navigate in areas, but explains concepts and definitions in a way that should
be easily understood by a younger crowd. Access:
http://www.copyrightkids.org/.
• Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).
EFF’s mission is “defending freedom in the digital world.” The site has two
sections that should be of particular interest to the reader: “Intellectual
Property” and “Fair Use and DRM.” EFF offers background information on major
topics, research, legislation, etc., with a strong focus on digital audio and
visual, though the underlying concepts and ideas such as digital rights
management, fair use, DCMA, etc. should be relevant to all information
professionals. Access:
http://www.eff.org/.
• The Fair Use Network.
As part of the Free Expression Policy Project, the Fair Use Network exists to
promote freedom of expression and assist individuals who have questions about,
among other things, fair use and copyright law. Their blog tracks current
copyright events and links to other advocacy sites. In addition they provide
basic descriptions of copyright law and a “Glossary & Index of Legal Terms.”
Access:
http://fairusenetwork.org/.
• The Free Expression Policy Project
(FEPP). FEPP advocates for many issues related to intellectual
property rights. It provides news and commentary as well as their own policy
reports. Navigating the site can be challenging; click the “Copyright” menu
button to see an aggregate of links on the subject.
Access:
http://fepproject.org/.
• World International Policy
Organization (WIPO). WIPO is an agency of the United Nations
whose aim is “developing a balanced and accessible international intellectual
(IP) system . . .” Their “Copyright” section provides links to reports,
publications, treaties, etc. Access:
http://www.wipo.int/copyright/en/.
Discussion lists and bulletin boards
• Coalition for Networked Information.
Access:
http://www.cni.org/Hforums/cni-copyright/.
• Copyright Advisory Network Forum.
Access:
http://www.librarycopyright.net/wordpress/punbb/viewforum.php?id=1.
• Online Forum On Intellectual Property
in the Informational Age.
Access:
http://www.wipo.int/ipisforum/en/.