Preface
A lot has happened since the first edition of The Librarian's Copyright Companion was published in 2004, and a lot hasn't changed.
As for what's new, it's more evolution than revolution. The transition from print to digital continues apace: digital format is the default version for periodicals and journals in many libraries, and YouTube and other digital media are now commonly used in teachers' classrooms.[1] In academia, many libraries have created digital archives or scholarly repositories, and have themselves become publishers. Print reserves have pretty much given way to e-reserves and commercial products like Blackboard. In a decision reached just as this book was going to press, a U.S. District Court in Georgia clarified the meaning of fair use for materials placed in e-reserves. The decision has been viewed as a win for libraries, but may be appealed.
The Copyright Act has changed a little, but not for the better. Efforts to amend the library exemption by the Section 108 Study Group went nowhere after three years of hard work. The fair use (section 107) and the public performance and display exemptions (section 110, which includes the TEACH Act) also remain unchanged. The U.S. Supreme Court continues to affirm anything Congress does that expands the term of copyright (Eldred v. Ashcroft in 2003 and Golan v. Holder in 2012).
What also hasn't changed is the fact that the publishing/copyright owner industry still promotes its views loudly and clearly. A great example is the October 2011 issue of Information Today: The Newspaper for Users and Producers of Digital Information Services, which had as its lead article "Armstrong: the Voice of Copyright." Tracey Armstrong, President and CEO of the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC), is not the voice of
- ↑ YouTube even has its own "copyright center" for owners, users, and educators: http://www.YouTube.com/t/copyright_center.
xi
