Copying Unpublished Works (Section 108(b))
5.3. Section 108(b)
Copying Entire Unpublished Works
- Three copies
- For preservation and security, or for deposit for research use in another § 108(a) library
If
- The work is owned by the library asked to make the copy, and
- The digital version is used internally
Section 108(b) permits a library to reproduce an unpublished work for the purpose of preservation and security, or for deposit for research use in another library, if the library making the reproduction owns a copy of the work. The three copies may be in any format, including digital. But a Congressional committee expressed concern that “uncontrolled public access to the copies or phonorecords in digital formats could substantially harm the interests of the copyright owner by facilitating immediate, flawless and widespread reproduction and distribution of additional copies or phonorecords of the work.”[1] To address this concern, Congress included some restrictions regarding further distribution of digital copies and where digital copies may be accessed.
Under section 108(b)(2), copies reproduced in digital format may not be “otherwise distributed in that format,” nor “made available to the public in that format outside the premises of the library or archives.” The provision prohibiting further distribution in digital format might seem to preclude a library that owns an unpublished work from sending a digital copy to another library for research purposes. The legislative history, however, indicates otherwise. The Senate Judiciary Committee wrote that
- ↑ S. Rep. No. 105-190, at 61 (1998).
