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RSS feedsAs information gatekeepers for their organisations, information professionals exercise a major responsibility on a daily basis in deciding what information is paid for, the value of that information and the subsequent return on investment. As sophisticated buyers of information they have a real insight into the payment models that work for the corporate sector and their sustainability.
This month the UK Intellectual Property Office’s digital exceptions consultation closes. The responses to the Gowers Review of intellectual property are bound to raise questions over how content producers should be rewarded.
The British Library gave a platform recently to authors and publishers to voice their concerns about the way in which intellectual property rights are being decided in this digital age. Information professionals may not be used to giving special weight to the voices of fiction authors, but in this era of turbulence it is worth gathering views from all points across the spectrum.
Whatever models eventually emerge as sustainable and irrespective of delivery method, it is worth reiterating the most important principles. With the shift from print to digital publishing there is a danger that the traditional balance at the heart of copyright is being undermined, which could make it more difficult for information professionals and others to access and use information.
There is a need for a legislative framework that seeks to find and maintain a fair balance between the conflicting public and private interests that shape and inform the intellectual property regime. Many of these concepts go to the heart of what we understand to be a democratic and civilised society. Creators of content need to be treated fairly; at the same time content users need to be able to access information and ideas. Few could disagree with that. The hard part is finding workable agreements between points of view that are presently far apart.
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