RLI 285: Research Library Issues: A Report from ARL, CNI, and SPARC 2015 -- Special Issue on Copyright

Authors

Prudence Adler, Association of Research Libraries
Brandon Butler, American University
Jonathan Band, policybandwidth
Krista Cox, Association of Research Libraries

Document Type

Article

Citation

Prudence S. Adler. “Special Issue on Copyright.” Research Library Issues: A Report from ARL, CNI, and SPARC, no. 285 (2015): 1–2. http://publications.arl.org/rli285/.

Brandon Butler. “Fair Use Rising: Full-Text Access and Repurposing in Recent Case Law.” Research Library Issues: A Report from ARL, CNI, and SPARC, no. 285 (2015): 3–6. http://publications. arl.org/rli285/.

Jonathan Band. “What Does the HathiTrust Decision Mean for Libraries?” Research Library Issues: A Report from ARL, CNI, and SPARC, no. 285 (2015): 7–13. http://publications.arl.org/rli285/.

Krista Cox. “International Copyright Developments: From the Marrakesh Treaty to Trade Agreements.” Research Library Issues: A Report from ARL, CNI, and SPARC, no. 285 (2015): 14–22. http://publications.arl.org/rli285/.

Comments

Articles licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

In “Fair Use Rising: Full-Text Access and Repurposing in Recent Case Law,” Brandon Butler, practitioner-in-residence at the American University Washington College of Law, reviews six recent fair use decisions that cut across many socially important and beneficial purposes. He highlights the trend of courts finding in favor of allowing “the broad redistribution of unaltered, full-text documents for new purposes.” Butler explains how this trend presents new opportunities for research libraries to use and re-purpose the full text of copyrighted works in their collections.

Exploring the implications of one critically important case for research libraries, Jonathan Band, legal counsel to the Library Copyright Alliance (LCA), reviews key aspects of the decision in Authors Guild v. HathiTrust. Band notes, “The decision has implications for libraries that go far beyond the specific facts of the case. This paper offers some preliminary thoughts on what these implications may be.” Band reviews several issues including mass digitization and storage, access to works, suggestions concerning other forms of access, and associational standing. With the recent settlement of the HathiTrust case and the rulings by the district and appeals courts, libraries may now, with strong confidence, engage in mass digitization, provide access to digitized texts for the print-disabled, and more.

Finally, Krista Cox, director of public policy initiatives for ARL, reviews a range of international activity relating to copyright and what all of these activities mean for research libraries in “International Copyright Developments.” These developments range from work at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on the Marrakesh Treaty for the Blind, Visually Impaired, or Print Disabled, to WIPO discussions of exceptions and limitations for libraries and education, as well as international trade agreement negotiations that have been underway for quite some time. All of these international activities have long-term implications for how research libraries and higher education may engage in research, teaching, and learning.