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AIB. Commissione nazionale università e ricerca |
The interplay between the laws of copyright and contract are well illustrated by the development of off-line and on-line electronic information. This paper will outline the history and principles of copyright, the uncertainties in its application in fair use/fair dealing, and the new challenges presented by electronic information use. Copyright law is general in its application. It concerns music, software and entertainment as well as literature and art. It is the framework within which trade in a variety of different cultural and information industries is conducted. It provides the context in which the rights of authors, publishers, libraries and readers are exercised.
Copyright is a legal default mechanism which can be circumvented by the use of contracts. Contracts, whether concerned with the assignment of rights from author to publisher or the specific usage rights libraries may enjoy, can address the specific interests and requirements of the parties, and bring certainty to the relationship between rights owners and libraries in the world of scholarly communication. Electronic information industries are still embryonic. Both suppliers and users of information are still feeling their way. The use of contracts can accurately reflect the requirements of both parties at the time, and can change as the information landscape evolves.
This paper will outline some of the principles that should underlie the development of appropriate licence agreements for the use of scholarly literature in electronic form. Efforts to standardise contractual terms have been made in the USA and in Europe. The balance of interest between rights holders and the library community is one specific to the research and scholarly communities, and is best addressed by dialogue and consensus. Reform of the copyright law will be dictated by the music, software and enterainment industries; libraries and their suppliers would be well advised to address their trading relationships themselves, rather than rely on the general law of copyright.