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RSS feedsThe British Library has launched a campaign to ensure copyright issues in research and education are reflected in any legislation or rules resulting from recent government initiatives.
BL’s chief executive Dame Lynne Brindley said that just as technology was giving greater access to books and other creative works, new restrictions threatened to lock away digital content in a way that would never be countenanced for printed material.
“Let’s not wake up in five years’ time and realise we have unwittingly lost a fundamental building block for innovation, education and research in the UK,” she urged.
Chairing a debate exploring the role of copyright law in a digital knowledge economy, Dame Lynne said: “Copyright is at the heart of our knowledge economy. In the 21st century, access to technology, information and knowledge is key to economic success and governed by our copyright laws. Copyright has successfully maintained a balance in the public interest for creators and researchers for 300 years, yet it is under threat today.”
Dame Lynne put forward five suggestions to create an environment that would let academics and researchers use technological developments to the full. She believes many contracts undermine the public interest exceptions in copyright law to foster education, learning and creativity.
“Addressing this issue is crucial so existing and new exceptions are not overridden by copyright law,” she said.
She added that libraries had to be able to keep copies of the material they acquire, including web harvesting of the .uk internet domain.
She also called for a legislative solution for ‘orphan works’ (where the rightsholder can’t be traced), urged the provision of internet access to the UK’s large historical collections, and proposed that researchers and libraries be permitted to make available “fair dealing copies” of anything in their collections, including sound and film recordings, which are currently excluded from fair dealing.
Last, she called for copyright law to allow computer-based research techniques in the same way that analogue-based research activity was protected.
During the debate, higher education and IP minister David Lammy said: “The copyright system honours, encourages and rewards the creative act. There are huge possibilities for education and research if we can crack copyright in the 21st century. When a child can download content legally and easily from the Open University or the British Library, that is hugely exciting.”
The debate was the latest in a series facilitated by BL on how IP regulation can best serve the public interest in the digital age. BL previously campaigned for the copyright law to incorporate the five principles of public interest, balance, inclusion of digital formats of content, aligning laws with realities, and technology neutrality.
