Copyright 101: Staying Legal - Resources

Today, March 27, I'm giving a copyright workshop for the Southwest Florida Library Network (SWFLN) in Fort Myers, FL.  I've geared this to be an interactive workshop with several handouts, including a resource list.  Since a paper-based resource list isn't clickable, I'm placing all of the resources here, too, for the participants and for you.  Enjoy!

• Columbia Univ. Libraries. Fair Use Checklist.
• Copyright Clearance Center. Interlibrary Loan: Copyright Guidelines and Best Practices.
• Cornell University Library. Copyright Term & the Public Domain in the U.S.
• CreativeCommons

  A global nonprofit organization that enables sharing and reuse of creativity and knowledge through the provision of free legal tools.

• Creative Commons. Waana Work Together? (3 min. video)
  
• Crews, K.D. (2018) Copyright Law for Librarians and Educators: Creative Strategies and Practical Solutions
• Faden, E. A Fair(y) Use Tale (10 min. video).

  “…humorous, yet informative, review of copyright principles delivered through the words of the very folks we can thank for nearly endless copyright terms.”

• RUSA/ALA. Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States.
• Templeton, B.  10 Big Myths about copyright explained.  
• World Blind Union. The Treaty of Marrakesh explained.
• United States Copyright Office
• U.S. Copyright Law, Title 17
  
• Circular1: U.S. Copyright Basics
• Circular14: Copyright in Derivative Works and Compilations
• Circular15: Duration of Copyright
• Circular21: Reproduction of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Librarians
• Circular33: Works Not Protected by Copyright
• Section121: Limitations on exclusive rights: Reproduction for blind or other people with disabilities
• Digital MillenniumCopyright Act Summary

Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act

The March 19, 2018 email ALA Advocacy Alert contained the following text:

After many years of hard work, we are one step closer to seeing the Marrakesh Treaty implemented in the United States. The Marrakesh Treaty is an international copyright treaty that was adopted by the World Intellectual Property Organization and signed by the U.S. in October 2013. It provides a copyright exception - the first ever in an international treaty - for libraries as authorized entities to make accessible copies of articles and books for people with print disabilities and distribute those copies across borders. If the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act is passed the United States will be able to provide a wealth of new accessible content to Americans with print disabilities, including those who speak English as a second language. In many ways, this is a civil rights law. It affirms that access to information is a universal right for all people regardless of circumstance.

More information on the Marrakesh Treaty is available from WIPO and the World Blind Union. I like the World Blind Union's conclusion:

In plain language, this is a Treaty that should start to remedy the book famine. It provides a crucial legal framework for adoption of national copyright exceptions in countries that lack them. It creates an international import/export regime for the exchange of accessible books across borders. It is necessary for ending the book famine, but it is not sufficient. Countries need to sign, ratify and implement its provisions. Non-profit organizations, libraries, educational institutions and government need to take advantage of these provisions to actually deliver the accessible books people with disabilities need for education, employment and full social inclusion.

You can follow the progress of S. 2559, which would amend Title 17 (U.S. Copyright Law) on the Congress.gov web site. The Association of Research Libraries is keeping track of which countries have ratified the treaty.   While the U.S. is not among the first, let's hope we also are not among the last to do so.

If you are interested in seeing the Marrakesh Treaty approved in the U.S. Senate, consider contacting your senator.  It will then need to be ratified by our President.

Sound Recordings and Phonorecords

Whenever I read part of Copyright Law which contains the word "phonorecord", a little voice inside of me says "w-h-a-t-?".  None of us every go into a store and ask to purchase a phonorecord.   In case, you've never looked up the definitions, here they are.

According to Circular 56:

Generally, a sound recording is a recorded performance, often of another work. A sound recording must be fixed, meaning that the sounds must be captured in a medium from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated.

 So a sound recording is what is recorded and what we listen to.  According to Section 101: 

“Sound recordings” are works that result from the fixation of a series of musical spoken, or other sounds, but not including the sounds accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work...

 Then what is the medium?  Turning again to Circular 56:

A phonorecord is the statutory term for a physical object that contains a sound recording, such as a digital audio file, a compact disc, or an LP. The term “phonorecord” includes any type of object that may be used to store a sound recording,including digital formats such as .mp3 and .wav files.

 As Section 101 says:

“Phonorecords” are material objects in which sounds, other than those accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work, are fixed by any method now known or later developed, and from which the sounds can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.

Since 1790, when the U.S. enacted its first copyright law, the law has played catch-up with technology. Therefore, I like that it now try to include technologies that have not yet been developed ("any method now known or later developed").  So far, that forward looking phrase seems to be working for us!

Using Fair Use

During Wednesday's webinar for ALA entitled "Understanding and Defending Copyright in Your Library: An Introduction", I talked about Fair Use. I contend that Fair Use is the concept which everyone uses and few understand.  It is easy to wave your hands and proclaim that your use is fair.  It is more work to decide whether your use is truly fair in your judgment.

When you consider Fair Use, there are questions that will be asked.  You might use some or all of these:

• What is the situation?  
• Why do you want to use this work?
• What is being used and why?
• How much is being used?
• Will the use affect the market?
• Can you use less of the work and still be effective?
• Would it be possible for people to obtain the work themselves?
• Can you find something similar that is in the public domain or which has a Creative Commons license?
• And...what is the real risk if you use the work?

Even asking and answering a few of those questions requires patience, especially if some investigation is needed. Yet it is being patient enough to understand, consider and decide which can make the difference.  And if you decide to locate a different work, that can take time.  (I have spent more time than I care to admit finding images in the public domain or with a Creative Commons license to use in blog posts and presentations!)

During the webinar, I walked through four examples.  Honestly, as I talked about them, I began second guessing what I had written! Had I been true to the four factors?  Had I trivialized the details?  Could I make a different decision?  My internal conversation was running rampant, because I wanted to be sure of the path I was leading people on.  That internal conversation can lead people to want to make a quick decision and get it over with, yet it is that internal questioning that teaches us more about copyright and Fair Use.

Above is one of the slides I used.  The example is that of a patron who wants to make multiple copies of a recent political news article to distribute on the street.  Being on a college campus and around activists, this is a situation that I can imagine occurring.  While it would be easy to skip to a conclusion and decide that the use was not fair, I went though the four factors.  I noted that the last two factor - amount and substantiality as well as effect on the market - opposed Fair Use.  I believed that the nature of the copyrighted work (a news article) favored Fair Use.  However, I felt that the first factor (nature of the use) was unclear, because it seemed to me that it could go either way.  The result would either be a toss-up or a situation where the use was clearly not fair.  Given the third and fourth factors, I think you would agree that the use really would not be fair.  Yes, a bit of work for a result that we might have guessed, but it is that work which would hopefully stop us from abusing someone's property.

I encouraged webinar participants to walk through examples with coworkers, as a way for everyone to get comfortable with Fair Use.  The conversations which would emerge would be educational.  Even any disagreements would be educational.  If those conversations and disagreements lead people to learn more about Fair Use, then that's a good thing. 

Copyright and the value we place owning property

Yesterday, I gave a webinar for ALA entitled "Understanding and Defending Copyright in Your Library: An Introduction."  As I spoke about briefly about Section 109, it struck me hard the value we put on owning property.  Section 109, referred to as the First Sale Doctrine, is about physical materials.  As a human race, we have shown century after century that we value ownership of material items, whether those items be money, land, equipment, or - sadly at some parts of our history - people. The "American Dream" equates a good life with owning a home and other items.  That Dream was a way of separating people who could afford to own from those who could not.  It is not about community ownership or living a life that is in balance with the world around us; it is about acquiring possessions whether they be immovable (real property, e.g., land) or movable (personal property, e.g., clothes).

Copyright is about asserting property right on our ownership "original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression" (Section 102).  The word tangible stands out because  it is difficult to own something that is not fixed in some way.  We know from our use of the Internet that exerting ownership on digital items can be impossible.  We can quickly lose our control over those digital items.  For example, Facebook strips ownership information out of photos that are uploaded to it.  Where that photo came from and who took it is quickly lost.  Our ability to not own digital works has impacted what we can do with ebooks (a topic I discussed yesterday), for example. 

By the way, at the moment, many of us - no matter our station in life - have many digital objects in our procession.  We see them as personal property, yet given how society values property these digital objects has no real value at all.  Does that may it easier to abuse those digital objects (improperly copy, share, etc.)?  Subliminally, perhaps yes.

When people ask questions about copyright, there is always a question about attribution. What if I just acknowledge that the work belongs to someone else, I am okay then?  The answer is "no", because we have not fully respected that someone else owns and controls the work.  We have not fully respected their property.  Consider some equivalent such as moving into your home and acknowledging that is us yours, while simultaneously redecorating in a style that I like!

You might be expecting a thoughtful conclusion to this ramble. I'm not sure that I have one.  I believe that we need to teach children about their rights as creators when they are in elementary school.  I believe that if children understand that they are creators and what that means in terms of their creations, then they will better respect the creations of others.  This, however, is about owning and respecting property.  Perhaps along side those lessons there should be lessons that allow them to think about property in different ways.  That is it not about personal ownership and acquisitions, but about a respectful sharing or co-ownership.  I don't know where those lessons might lead, but I would hope that it might lead to positive changes.

Book: Managing Copyright in Higher Education: A Guidebook

Continuing with highlighting books from Rowman & Littlefield, an exhibitor at the ALISE 2018 conference, next up...

Originally published in 2014, Managing Copyright in Higher Education: A Guidebook by Donna Ferullo (Purdue University) was released in 2017 in a paperback version. According to the publisher:

As more and more colleges and universities establish copyright offices and/or assign the responsibilities of copyright education and advisory services to specific individuals within the institution, many times librarians, there is a paucity of resources available on how to manage that responsibility. Most works on copyright discuss the law and court cases interpreting the law but few address the situational application of it and the management and coordination of copyright efforts on a campus.

This book is available in both hard and soft covers, as well as in an ebook edition.

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Book: Digitizing Flat Media: Principles and Practices

Continuing with highlighting books from Rowman & Littlefield, an exhibitor at the ALISE 2018 conference, next up...

In 2016, Joy Perrin (Texas Tech University) released the book Digitizing Flat Media: Principles and Practices. According to the publisher:

Here is a concise guide to the nuts and bolts of converting flat media (books, papers, maps, posters, slides, micro formats, etc) into digital files. It provides librarians and archivists with the practical knowledge to understand the process and decision making in the digitization of flat media. Instead of having to learn by trial and error, they will get a well-rounded education of the practical aspects of digitization and have a better understanding of their options. This is the stuff they don’t teach you in school.

This book is available in both hard and soft covers, as well as in an ebook edition.

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FTC Disclaimer: Digitization 101 is an Amazon affiliate and receives a small commission if you purchase a product or service from an Digitization 101 Amazon link.

Book: Digital Preservation for Libraries, Archives, and Museums

Continuing with highlighting books from Rowman & Littlefield, an exhibitor at the ALISE 2018 conference, next up...

In 2017, Edward M. Corrado (University of Alabama) and Heather Moulaison Sandy (University of Missouri) released the second edition of Digital Preservation for Libraries, Archives, and Museums.  According to the publisher:

For administrators and practitioners alike, the information in this book is presented readably, focusing on management issues and best practices. Although this book addresses technology, it is not solely focused on technology. After all, technology changes and digital preservation is aimed for the long term. This is not a how-to book giving step-by-step processes for certain materials in a given kind of system. Instead, it addresses a broad group of resources that could be housed in any number of digital preservation systems. Finally, this book is about “things (not technology; not how-to; not theory) I wish I knew before I got started.”

Digital preservation is concerned with the life cycle of the digital object in a robust and all-inclusive way. Many Europeans and some North Americans may refer to digital curation to mean the same thing, taking digital preservation to be the very limited steps and processes needed to insure access over the long term. The authors take digital preservation in the broadest sense of the term: looking at all aspects of curating and preserving digital content for long term access.

This book is available in both hard and soft covers, as well as in an ebook edition.

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FTC Disclaimer: Digitization 101 is an Amazon affiliate and receives a small commission if you purchase a product or service from an Digitization 101 Amazon link.

Book: Preserving Digital Materials

This week, I'm going to highlight four books from Rowman & Littlefield, an exhibitor at the ALISE 2018 conference.  First up...

This month (March 2018), the third edition of the book Preserving Digital Materials by Dr. Ross Harvey  (RMIT University) and Jaye Weatherburn (University of Melbourne) will be released.  According to the publisher:

This is a concise handbook and reference for a wide range of stakeholders who need to understand how preservation works in the digital world. It notes the increasing importance of the role of new stakeholders and the general public in digital preservation. It can be used as both a textbook for teaching digital preservation and as a guide for the many stakeholders who engage in digital preservation. Its synthesis of current information, research, and perspectives about digital preservation from a wide range of sources across many areas of practice makes it of interest to all who are concerned with digital preservation. It will be of use to preservation administrators and managers, who want a professional reference text, information professionals, who wish to reflect on the issues that digital preservation raises in their professional practice, and students in the field of digital preservation.

This book is available in both hard and soft covers, as well as in an ebook edition.

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FTC Disclaimer: Digitization 101 is an Amazon affiliate and receives a small commission if you purchase a product or service from an Digitization 101 Amazon link.

The end of Fair Use Week and I've done (almost) nothing to celebrate it

It's Friday afternoon and I just realized that it is the last day of Fair Use Week.  While I talked about Fair Use on the webinar I gave on Wednesday (and there will be more about it in Part 2 next week), I haven't done anything to truly celebrate this week.  Have you?  If you haven't, let me list a few blog posts that you might want to read on the topic.  They are:

• Newly Updated: Fair Use FAQ 
• Debunking the Fair Use vs. Fair Dealing Myth: Have We Had Fair Use All Along
• Fair Use and User Generated Content
• How Is an App Like a Player Piano? And Does That Help the Fair Use Case for Software Preservation?
• Fair Use and Course Reserves: Fact and Fiction

I also want to put to the handout from the Association of Research Libraries on Fair Use Fundamentals.