The nonsense of copyright in libraries : digital information and the right to copy

Staincliffe, Paul The nonsense of copyright in libraries : digital information and the right to copy., 2006 . In LIANZA Conference 2006, Wellington (New Zealand), 8-11 October 2006. [Conference paper]

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English abstract

The notion of copyright is deeply entrenched in the psyche of librarians, who remain one of the few groups who consistently support or uphold it. Given the growth of digital information and consequential change in the behaviour of information creators and users the paper posits that copyright administration in libraries has become a cumbersome burden whose “time has come”. Changes in information provision by libraries towards delivering more digital information have ironically highlighted the paradox libraries face between providing the best possible service and upholding copyright. The notion that there exists in the digital environment a “right to copy” is put forward. Copyright is legally complicated, controversial, subject to a number of misunderstandings and generally not fully understood even by the librarians whose daily tasks include administering it. To better understand the current status of copyright and its impact on libraries the notion of copyright is briefly outlined, along with what exactly copyright is, its historical roots and its suitability in the current environment. In examining the legislation the paper critiques its aims and how it fails in these; compares arguments in favour and against its retention, investigates how it serves to restrict creativity rather than encourage it and in closing suggests why libraries should abandon the struggle to uphold copyright. Examples from New Zealand, Australia, the US and the UK are used to highlight inconsistencies that support the argument that copyright in the digital environment is a nonsense that no longer works.

Item type: Conference paper
Keywords: Copyright; copy; digital; freedom; failure;
Subjects: E. Publishing and legal issues. > ED. Intellectual property: author's rights, ownership, copyright, copyleft, open access.
B. Information use and sociology of information > BC. Information in society.
Depositing user: Paul Staincliffe
Date deposited: 18 Oct 2006
Last modified: 02 Oct 2014 12:04
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10760/8241

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