Category: Copyright

https://www.copyright.gov/newsnet/2018/731.html?loclr=eanco

https://www.scienceeurope.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/180912_SE_PR_CopyrightVote.pdf

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.

Academic Library as Scholarly Publisher Bibliography | Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

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.

Academic Library as Scholarly Publisher Bibliography | Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

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.

Academic Library as Scholarly Publisher Bibliography | Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/09/dont-turn-register-copyrights-presidential-pawn