Category: Copyright

"The State Copyright Conundrum: What’s Your State Government’s Rule on Copyright?"

Kyle K. Courtney has published "The State Copyright Conundrum: What's Your State Government’s Rule on Copyright?" in College & Research Libraries News.

Here's an excerpt:

U.S. copyright law has a unique place in the world regarding federal works and copyright. Federal copyright law states that "Copyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the United States Government."1 This is a broad and clear statement that works of the federal government are in the public domain and are free for use by all.

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"The Rights Provisions of a Book Publishing Contract"

Melody Herr has published "The Rights Provisions of a Book Publishing Contract" in the Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication.

Here's an excerpt:

When signing a publishing contract, an author makes decisions which directly affect the book's availability. In order to decide judiciously which rights to retain and which to transfer to a publisher, she needs an understanding of U.S. copyright law and the author-publisher partnership. In this article, Melody Herr, PhD, a scholarly communications professional who has over 16 years of experience in academic publishing and who has authored six books herself, explains the rights provisions of a book contract. First, she discusses copyright ownership and describes the ways in which copyright's components apply to scholarly books. After enumerating the benefits and drawbacks of allocating specific rights to a publisher, she highlights contract wording to watch for and suggests the rights an author may wish to retain by negotiating an addendum. She then explains how an author may reclaim rights granted to a publisher through reversion or termination of transfer. In the conclusion, she recommends that outreach programs target scholars at critical moments when they face decisions regarding publication of their work.

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Getting Started: Implementing the Marrakesh Treaty for Persons with Print Disabilities: A Practical Guide for Librarians

IFLA has released Getting Started: Implementing the Marrakesh Treaty for Persons with Print Disabilities: A Practical Guide for Librarians.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

This guide, edited by Victoria Owen, and with the welcome support of the World Blind Union, the Canadian Association of Research Libraries, Electronic Information for Libraries, and the University of Toronto, offers answers to frequently asked questions. It can also be adapted by national actors to their own laws—IFLA encourages this, in order to get the largest possible number of libraries involved

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US Signs Treaty: "The Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act"

Karyn A. Temple has published "The Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act" in Copyright: Creativity at Work.

Here's an excerpt:

The MTIA amends section 121 of the Copyright Act, which has already established limitations and exceptions allowing certain authorized entities, like the Library of Congress’s National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, to provide published works in accessible formats to those who have print disabilities. The MTIA reinforces section 121's mission and changes some of its key terms and definitions to comply with the text of the Marrakesh Treaty. For example, the term "blind or other persons with disabilities" is now "eligible persons," which is then defined as someone who is blind, has a perceptual or reading disability, or has a physical disability affecting their ability to read.

The MTIA also adds a new section—121A—to the Copyright Act allowing authorized entities to both export and import works in accessible formats between the United States and other countries who have signed the Marrakesh Treaty. Finally, section 121A provides guidance to authorized entities engaged in exporting or importing on establishing and following certain practices and procedures. For a more detailed summary of what the MTIA does, please visit the Office’s FAQ.

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"What’s Next with WIPO’s Ill-Advised Broadcast Treaty?"

The Creative Commons has released "What's Next with WIPO's Ill-Advised Broadcast Treaty?" by Timothy Vollmer.

Here's an excerpt:

Six years ago we wrote a blog post titled WIPO's Broadcasting Treaty: Still Harmful, Still Unnecessary. At the time, the proposed treaty—which would grant to broadcasters a separate, exclusive copyright-like right in the signals that they transmit, separate from any copyrights in the content of the transmissions—had already been on WIPO’s docket for several years. It’s still on the table today, and now some countries are calling for actions to finalise the agreement.

The current text contains many of the same damaging provisions, such as long term of protection (possibly 50 years) and little to no support for limitations and exceptions to the right which could provide needed protections for activities such as news reporting, quotation, education, personal use, and archiving.

But the dealbreaker for CC is the fact that the treaty would essentially invalidate the permissions that users of Creative Commons grant when they share their creativity under open licenses, and instead gift new and unwarranted rights to broadcasting organizations that have added little or no value to the underlying work being transmitted. This is because the rights provided to broadcasters in the treaty would apply separately from copyright, thus permitting them to restrict how the content is shared even if the creator of the video or audio content has already released it under a Creative Commons license, or if it's already in the public domain.

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US-Mexico-Canada Agreement: "From Copyright Term to Super Bowl Commercials: Breaking Down the Digital NAFTA Deal"

Michael Geist has published "From Copyright Term to Super Bowl Commercials: Breaking Down the Digital NAFTA Deal" in his blog.

Here's an excerpt:

Yet the major copyright change for Canada is the extension in the term of copyright beyond the international standard of life of the author plus 50 years to life of the author plus 70 years. The term of copyright was never going to hold up a major trade agreement and Canada did agree to an extension in the original TPP. However, the cost will be significant, locking down works from the public domain for decades and potentially increasing educational costs by millions of dollars. From a domestic policy perspective, the change should impact the current copyright review as term extension has been one of the top requests from rights holders and areas of concern for users. The extension shifts the copyright balance in Canada and should be factored into future reforms, including the benefits of extending fair dealing to restore the balance.

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The CASE Act (H.R. 3945): "Copyright and Speech Should Not Be Treated Like Traffic Tickets"

Katharine Trendacosta has published "Copyright and Speech Should Not Be Treated Like Traffic Tickets" in DeepLinks.

Here's an excerpt:

On Thursday, August 27, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the CASE Act (H.R. 3945). The CASE Act would create a “small claims” system for copyright, but not within the courts. Instead, cases would be heard by “Claims Officers” at the Copyright Office in Washington, D.C. And the Copyright Office has a history of presuming the interests of copyright holders are more valid than other legal rights and policy concerns, including the free expression values protected by fair use.

Basically every concern we had about the CASE Act last year remains: Turning over quasi-judicial power, which would include issuing damages awards of up to $15,000 per work infringed or $30,000 per proceeding, and agreements which boil down to binding injunctions, to a body with this history is unwise.

See also: Text of the bill.

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