2008SpringQ4Response

//What is copyright? Identify and describe three key features of copyright law in a digital environment. Describe and discuss the implications of copyright law with respect to access and use of digital content.//

[|Good articles from ALA about copyright]

[Maryke: ] Copyright was originally created to balance the rights of the author with the rights/needs of the creative public. The author has economic rights, to obtain financial benefit from creative work; she also has moral rights, to claim ownership of her creation, prevent mutilation, and withdraw it if she should choose.

Balanced with this is the general good: the benefits that are gained when creative works are made available to others for use in creative endeavors, innovation, and learning.

Key features of copyright law in a digital environment are the treatment of digital rights, the interpretation of fair use, and

DRM technology provides publishers the opportunity to make money by offering limited access to content, for example one might purchase an audiobook which becomes inaccessible after a year. Challenges here are incompatibility of format - DRM frequently limits products to only one player or type of software - and cost: while a publisher might like to charge the buyer the same price for this digital audiobook as for the print version, it could be argued that this is unfair, since today's purchaser will not own the digital book in thirteen months.How the law balances the actions of publishers with the rights of the consumer in this scenario will determine the success and failure of existing formats and technologies, and the development of new ones. The courts can also either expend or limit the opportunities for public access to information.

Fair use enables free access for the purpose of education; it is essential to scholarship and creativity. Fair use allows faculty and students to bring articles, images, video into the classroom; it allows nonprofit institutions to use information to educate the general public; it promotes scholarly discussion by allowing for use of information for purposes of criticism; it enables research.

New technologies are enabling new forms of access, such as electronic reserves in integrated library systems and course management software. Publishers see these technologies as outside of fair use guidelines and courts are currently deciding how libraries may provide their users with access without infringing on publisher's rights. Another question is how libraries may treat the access they purchase to electronic collections when it comes to inter-library loan. If access is not equivalent to ownership in perpetuity, how may this lmiit libraries' right to share their collections? While many libraries have agreed to abide by professionally negotiated guidelines, the law may still have a lot to decide about this issue if publishers choose to challenge library practices.

[Linn] here is another good link on this topic.

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** Copyright ** **// What is copyright? //**  A group of rights controlling access to a work.  Exclusive rights granted to author, creator of work.  Can copy, distribute, adapt work.  Distribution implies "copies".  Ease of copies made, speed of transmission = potential problems for copyright in digital age **// Name 3 features of copyright law in digital environment. //**  1.) exclusive right = right of permission and denial (you have the right to choose who has access)  2.) fair use policies  3.) DRM (Digital Rights Management)  **// What are implications of copyright law with access and use of digital content? //**  With digital, ease of reproduction—copies made in a fraction of second at little cost. Tremendous potential for violation of copyright. Also, determining copyright ownership can be difficult.