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that the library or archives display prominently at the place where reproduction requests are accepted, and include on its order form, a warning of copyright in accordance with requirements that the Register of Copyright shall prescribe by regulation.
General exemptions
Clause (1) of subsection (f) specifically exempts a library or archives or their employees from such liability provided that the reproducing equipment displays a notice that the making of a copy may be subject to the copyright law. Clause (2) of subsection (f) makes clear that this exemption of the library or archives does not extend to the person using such equipment or requesting such copy if the use exceeds fair use. Insofar as such person is concerned the copy made is not considered “lawfully” made for purposes of sections 109, 110 or other provisions of the title. Clause (3) in addition to asserting that nothing contained in section 108 “affects the right of fair use as provided by section 107,” also provides that the right of reproduction granted by this section does not override any contractual arrangements assumed by a library or archives when it obtained a work for its collections. For example, if there is an express contractual prohibition against reproduction for any purpose, this legislation shall not be construed as justifying a violation of the contract. This clause is intended to encompass the situation where an individual makes papers, manuscripts or other works available to a library with the understanding that they will not be reproduced.
Clause (4) provides that nothing in section 108 is intended to limit the reproduction and distribution of a limited number of copies and excerpts of an audiovisual news program.
This clause was first added to the revision bill last year by the adoption of an amendment proposed by Senator Baker. It is intended to permit libraries and archives, subject to the general conditions of this section, to make off-the-air videotape recordings of television news programs. Despite the importance of preserving television news, the United States currently has no institution performing this function on a systematic basis.
The purpose of the clause is to prevent the copyright law from precluding such operations as the Vanderbilt University Television News Archive, which makes videotape recordings of television news programs, prepares indexes of the contents, and leases copies of complete broadcasts or compilations of coverage of specified subjects for limited periods upon request from scholars and researchers.
Because of the important copyright policy issues inherent in this issue, the exemption has been narrowly drafted. The Register of Copyrights in 1974 advised that the language of this clause was technically appropriate for its purpose and not “broader than is necessary to validate the Vanderbilt operation.”
The Copyright Office recommended that if the Congress desires a news videotape exemption it should be incorporated in section 108. The Copyright Office stated that the inclusion of such a clause in section 108 would be adequate “to enable the Vanderbilt operation to continue.”
It is the intent of this legislation that a subsequent unlawful use by a user of a copy of a work lawfully made by a library, shall not make the library liable for such improper use.
