Category: Copyright

"Blind Users Celebrate as Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Bill Drops"

Jeremy Malcolm has published "Blind Users Celebrate as Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Bill Drops" in Deeplinks.

Here's an excerpt:

Today the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Bill was introduced into Congress by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Bob Corker (R-TN), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), and Patrick Leahy (D-VT). The bill implements the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled, a landmark treaty that was adopted by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in June 2013, and has since been ratified by 37 other countries. The treaty is notable in that it is the first WIPO treaty passed primarily for a disadvantaged class of users, rather than for the benefit of copyright holders.

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"The Intellectual Properties of Learning: John Willinsky Discusses His New Book"

Richard Poynder has published "The Intellectual Properties of Learning: John Willinsky Discusses His New Book" in Open and Shut?.

Here's an excerpt:

Willinsky sets out to place open access within the larger historical context of learning's traditions, values, and norms. And he does so by casting his eye all the way back to the rise of the monasteries, and then forward to the Statute of Anne (1710), which for the first time brought the regulation of copyright under the control of the government and courts, rather than private parties

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"Public Knowledge Urges Congress to Promote a Competitive Marketplace in Music Modernization Act"

Public Knowledge has released "Public Knowledge Urges Congress to Promote a Competitive Marketplace in Music Modernization Act."

Here's an excerpt:

The Music Modernization Act is a rare bill that will bring positive change to the world of musical copyright. We applaud Representative Collins for including a number of pro-competitive and pro-consumer provisions in the Act, such as a blanket license, new performing rights organization, and a searchable, publicly accessible database of licensing information. . . .

The CLASSICS Act attempts to solve a systemic problem in copyright law—the lack of federal protection for pre-1972 sound recordings—by treating its symptoms. In doing so, it sweeps in countless archival and historical recordings, and grants them terms that in some cases exceed two centuries in duration. By refusing to commit works published prior to 1923 to the public domain (where they rightly belong), the language of CLASSICS endangers archival and historical activities.

Read more about it: H.R. 3301: CLASSICS Act and H.R. 4706: Music Modernization Act of 2017.

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"Making the Transition as the New Copyright Librarian"

Emilie Regina Algenio has published "Making the Transition as the New Copyright Librarian" in the Journal of Copyright in Education and Librarianship.

Here's an excerpt:

The corpus of academic librarianship literature notes very little material in relation to the work of new copyright librarians. However, the number of academic libraries hiring librarians to fill these positions is increasing, and the need for such literature is real and pertinent. The purpose of this research is to assist incoming copyright librarians with practical, evidence-based guidance for colleagues just starting out in roles focused on copyright issues. The author drew from professional experience as a first-time copyright librarian at a Carnegie One academic institution in the United States. The author highlights the value of constructing a copyright educational foundation for the university community, cultivating a community of practice, establishing best practices around copyright questions and the utility of effective, vetted copyright resources. Understanding the finer details of a copyright librarian’s job are important, as academic libraries are hiring candidates for other scholarly communication positions, and the applicants are expected to know American copyright law.

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"Copyright ‘Safe Harbours’ Distort Digital Market, Profit Tech Giants and Harm Creators, New Economic Study Finds"

The International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers has released "Copyright 'Safe Harbours' Distort Digital Market, Profit Tech Giants and Harm Creators, New Economic Study Finds."

Here's an excerpt:

"Economic Analysis of Safe Harbour Provisions", by Ashbel Smith Professor Stan Liebowitz of the University of Texas at Dallas, is the most detailed economic examination to date of how copyright owners have been damaged by so-called "safe harbour" rules in copyright law.

Read the report.

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"Congress Shouldn’t Turn the Copyright Office into a Copyright Court"

Mitch Stoltz and Corynne McSherry have published "Congress Shouldn't Turn the Copyright Office into a Copyright Court" in Deeplinks.

Here's an excerpt:

The current bill, the "CASE Act of 2017" (H.R. 3945), would set up a "Copyright Claims Board" within the Copyright Office, staffed by three judges called "Claims Officers" and empowered to hear copyright complaints from all over the country. Proceedings at the Claims Board would be voluntary, but if a respondent fails to opt out, the proceedings become binding, and the outcome can be enforced in federal court. The Board can issue damages awards of up to $15,000 per work infringed, or $30,000 per proceeding. If the parties consent, it can also issue "agreements to cease infringing activity" that become binding injunctions.

Unfortunately, the Copyright Office has a history of putting copyright holders' interests ahead of other important legal rights and policy concerns. We fear that any small claims process the Copyright Office conducts will tend to follow that pattern.

See also: "CASE Act of 2017"

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"No, Fair! Evolving Perspectives on Excessive Use in Research"

Angela Rathmel has published "No, Fair! Evolving Perspectives on Excessive Use in Research" in ACRLog.

Here's an excerpt:

Publishers take an even heavier hand when responding to excessive use breaches. Blocking the user's IP access, or sometimes an entire campus IP range, presumes malicious intent (which it almost never is). This response also exaggerates the stakes involved and misunderstands what is necessary to perform digital research. Strict reinterpretation of print use restrictions in the online environment denies advances in research technology, from basic citation management software to APIs used for text and data mining. It also ignores the very structure of the linked-data world we live in.

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Fair Use for Nonfiction Authors

The Authors Alliance has released Fair Use for Nonfiction Authors.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

The guide addresses three common situations faced by nonfiction authors in which fair use may apply: 1) criticizing, discussing, or commenting on copyrighted material; 2) using copyrighted material to support a point made in the author’s work; and 3) using copyrighted material for non-consumptive research. It also addresses the most frequently asked questions about fair use and clears up some common misconceptions about when it might apply.

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"Authors Alliance & Creative Commons Launch New Termination of Transfer Tool"

The Authors Alliance has released "Authors Alliance & Creative Commons Launch New Termination of Transfer Tool."

Here's an excerpt:

Termination of transfer allows creators (or, in some cases, their family members) to regain copyrights to creative works they may have signed away decades ago. Our tool helps them understand if those termination rights exist, and if not, when they may exist in the future. With rights back in hand, authors have many options for getting their works in front of new audiences, from sharing their works with the public using a Creative Commons license to negotiating new agreements with publishers.

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Lots of Institutional Repositories Keep E-prints Safe

The seductive allure of a commercial mega repository is two-fold: (1) everything is conveniently in one place, and (2) a company is taking care of the dreary and expensive business of running it.

Everything seems fine: problem solved! That is until something goes wrong, such as the repository being bought and controlled by a publisher or being threatened by lawsuits by a coterie of publishers.

Then it's important to remember: it's a company, and companies exist to make a profit.

Heh, companies are great. I wouldn't have just had that tasty cup of coffee without them. But, we should be very clear about what motivates companies and controls their behavior. And we shouldn't be shocked if they do things that aren't motivated by lofty goals.

I know: institutional repositories are hard work. The bloom is off the rose. But they exist to serve higher education, not make money, and they part of the academic communities they serve. And they can't be bought. And their universities don't often go out of business. And there are a lot of them. And they are not likely to be attractive targets for lawsuits unless something has gone very, very wrong at the local level.

Copyright is complicated. No one is advocating that we ignore it and just shove e-prints into IR's willy-nilly. Getting faculty to understand the ins and outs of e-print copyright is no picnic, nor is monitoring for compliance. But the battle is easier to fight at the local level where one-on-one faculty to librarian communication is possible.

For self-archiving to flourish in the long run, institutional repositories must flourish. By and large, librarians establish, run, and support them, and they are the quiet heroes of green open access who will continue to provide a sustainable and reliable infrastructure for self-archiving.

"Books from 1923 to 1941 Now Liberated!"

The Internet Archive has released "Books from 1923 to 1941 Now Liberated!."

Here's an excerpt:

The Internet Archive is now leveraging a little known, and perhaps never used, provision of US copyright law, Section 108h, which allows libraries to scan and make available materials published 1923 to 1941 if they are not being actively sold. Elizabeth Townsend Gard, a copyright scholar at Tulane University calls this "Library Public Domain." She and her students helped bring the first scanned books of this era available online in a collection named for the author of the bill making this necessary: The Sonny Bono Memorial Collection. Thousands more books will be added in the near future as we automate.

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Coalition for Responsible Sharing’s Statement: "Publishers and Societies Take Action against ResearchGate’s Copyright Infringements"

The Coalition for Responsible Sharing has released "Publishers and Societies Take Action against ResearchGate’s Copyright Infringements."

Here's an excerpt:

Numerous attempts to agree with ResearchGate on amicable solutions, including signing up to the Voluntary Principles of Article Sharing on Scholarly Collaboration Networks and implementing a user-friendly technical solution, remained unsuccessful. Members of the Coalition for Responsible Sharing are therefore now resorting to formal means to alter ResearchGate's damaging practices. The coalition members include the American Chemical Society, Brill, Elsevier, Wiley and Wolters Kluwer. These organizations will begin to issue takedown notices to ResearchGate requesting that infringing content be removed from the site. Concurrently, The American Chemical Society and Elsevier are asking the courts to clarify ResearchGate's copyright responsibility.

See also: "ResearchGate: Publishers Take Formal Steps to Force Copyright Compliance."

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"Publishers Taking Legal Action against ResearchGate to Limit Unlicensed Paper Sharing on Networking Site"

Jyllian Kemsley and Andrea Widener have published "Publishers Taking Legal Action against ResearchGate to Limit Unlicensed Paper Sharing on Networking Site" in Chemical & Engineering News.

Publishers could issue "millions" of take-down notices to ResearchGate.

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"Will Ruling in ReDigi Case Open the Door to a Used E-book Market?"

Andrew Albanese has published "Will Ruling in ReDigi Case Open the Door to a Used E-book Market?" in Publishers Weekly.

Here's an excerpt:

Should there be a legal market for reselling "used" digital files, like the secondary market that currently exists for books or CDs in the analog world?

Read more about Capitol Records, LLC v. ReDigi Inc.

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Lessons From History: The Copyright Office Belongs in the Library of Congress

ALA has released Lessons From History: The Copyright Office Belongs in the Library of Congress.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

Prompted by persistent legislative and other proposals to remove the CO from the Library in both the current and most recent Congresses, [Alisa] Holahan's analysis comprehensively reviews the history of the locus of copyright activities from 1870 to the present day. In addition to providing a longer historical perspective, the Report finds that Congress has examined this issue at roughly 20-year intervals, declining to separate the CO and Library each time.

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"For Second Time, Appeals Court Hears GSU E-Reserves Case"

Andrew Albanese has published "For Second Time, Appeals Court Hears GSU E-Reserves Case" in Publishers Weekly.

Here's an excerpt:

In the hearing, which went for just over an hour, a three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit in Atlanta, once again pressed attorneys for the fault lines in the decade-old copyright case, with much of the hearing focusing on whether Judge Orinda Evans correctly evaluated the fourth factor of the four factor fair use test (the effect on the market), and then properly weighted that factor in making her fair use determinations.

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"Sci-Hub Provides Access to Nearly All Scholarly Literature"

Daniel S Himmelstein et al. have published "Sci-Hub Provides Access to Nearly All Scholarly Literature" in PeerJ.

Here's an excerpt:

Since its creation in 2011, Sci-Hub has grown rapidly in popularity. However, until now, the extent of Sci-Hub's coverage was unclear. As of March 2017, we find that Sci-Hub's database contains 68.9% of all 81.6 million scholarly articles, which rises to 85.2% for those published in closed access journals. Furthermore, Sci-Hub contains 77.0% of the 5.2 million articles published by inactive journals. Coverage varies by discipline, with 92.8% coverage of articles in chemistry journals compared to 76.3% for computer science. Coverage also varies by publisher, with the coverage of the largest publisher, Elsevier, at 97.3%.

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