SLA Notes: Copyright, International Style
Copyright, International Style
Tuesday -- June 7, 2005
1:30 - 3:00 P.M.
Laura Speer (Moderator) -- Swidler Berlin LLP
Fred Haber -- Copyright Clearance Center : how copyright is affecting libraries and business
Lesley Ellen Harris -- copyrightlaws.com: overview of international copyright
Kelly Gill -- Gowling Lafleur Henderson, Toronto; litigator of CCH Canadian Ltd. v. Law Society of Upper Canada on behalf of the Law Society: differences between U.S. and Canadian copyright and the repercussions
Lesley Ellen Harris:
There is no such thing as international copyright law, technically; countries set international/multinational parameters on copyright mostly via treaties
For works in a physical medium, the country that a work is being used in determines what copyright laws are in effect, regardless of the geographic origin of the work -- AKA national treatment
Berne Convention -- copyright treaty dating back to 1886; 159 countries have ratified/signed onto it. Berne consists mostly of a set of guidelines and minimum standards.
Among those minimum standards:
* Automatic copyright protection - i.e. no formalities (such as registration, renewals, fees) necessary
* Duration of copyright protection - minimum of life of the author + 50 years
* Exceptions to copyright - fair use/fair dealings exceptions allowed
* Protection of moral rights - vary among countries (ex. the U.S. only defines/explicitly protects moral rights for visual works)
Digital copyright: there aren't any set guidelines at the international level
How to determine which laws apply when the work is housed on servers in one country and the user is in a different one? There's no one answer, but governments are starting to write their own laws/guidelines into trade agreements
Online resources for international copyright:
World Intellectual Property Organization
Copyright Society of the United States of America
Kelly Gill:
CCH Canadian v. Law Society of Upper Canada (2004)
Three issues before the Supreme Court:
1) Was the work (Canadian case laws) being copied under copyright
2) Did the copying of these works constitute fair dealings
3) Did the presence of the standalone photocopiers provide inducement to violate copyright
The Supreme Court struck middle ground in the copyright of of case laws and other compilations between the European/UK standard and the US standard as to what qualifies for copyright protection
| Europe/UK | Canada | United States |
|---|---|---|
| "Sweat of the brow" just the effort to compile the information makes it eligible for copyright protection | skill and judgement | "spark of creativity" |
The Court also decided on fair dealings issues: found that "research" purposes is not limited to non-commercial research and that fair dealings are a user right
| Fair use | vs. | Fair dealing |
|---|---|---|
| Applies to the actual end user, not 3rd parties which may have assisted the user in acquiring a copy | Much broader than fair use - encompasses the whole scheme of acquisition (including 3rd parties) | |
Remaining questions regarding fair dealings:
Are the number of copies being made affecting the content owner?
How do we define fairness? There is no definition of what is fair in either the U.S. or Canada.
The existence of a license for the material isn't relevant to fair dealings
When knowledge of infringements come to the library, what should be the actions of the library?
How to determine what's fair and what's not (before being sued)?
Fred Haber:
How is copyright changing the digital world?
There are some solutions to the challenges of digital copyright, but none have been wildly successful.
Technology drivers of change
- Digital dilemmas: perfect digital reproduction; elimination of distribution costs; no economies of scale
- Increasing complexity: individual works may contain myriad rights, and be quite granular (ex.: anthologies, compilations, adaptations, etc.); changes in rights ownership over time; uses not anticipated at the time of creation
- Increasing expectations of users: more speed; more access
The Internet as a Library
The Internet as a Communications Tool
The Internet as a Democratizing Agent
The Internet as a Source of Wealth
Legal challenges
Ownership: personal vs. corporate owners
Use: P2P sharing
Laws and directives changing copyright
Statutory vs. voluntary compliance
New laws of commerce:
Law of Inverse Pricing
Law of Plentitude
Law of Devolution
Two sets of problems and opportunities: one of content owners and one for content users (issues of access, Internet time; ease of use; decreased costs)
Hurdles
Barriers to entry for libraries
Developing infrastructure to exploit opportunity
Minimizing disruptions
Profiting from permissions
Current approaches to the copyright question:
* Give it away
* Lock it up
* Ostrict (i.e. ignore the situation until you're forced to confront it)
* Collective copyright management
- Remove barriers to entry
- Works with existing models
- Meet the customer
- Trust the customer
RROs - Reproduction Rights Organizations
Types:
* National to National
* National to International
* International to International
* International Federation of RROs
___________________________
Future copyright issues
Harris: more treaties, more changes in law, more emphasis on licensing and contracts
Comments
In Spain, to part of Copy we have the Cannon on the author rights... who obvious the foreign authors do not see... Cannon with great controversy that now they try to apply in libraries... How it walks there the Cannon in libraries?
Posted by: Yavannna | June 15, 2005 02:02 AM
2nd attemp...
In Spain, to part of Copy we have the Cannon on the author rights... who obvious the foreign authors do not see... Cannon with great controversy that now they try to apply in libraries... How it walks there the Cannon in libraries?
Posted by: Yavannna | June 15, 2005 02:03 AM