Limitations and Exceptions to Copyright and Neighbouring Rights in the Digital Environment: An International Library Perspective (2004)
Further information on Copyright Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives.
Revised after IFLA Buenos Aires 2004
- The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions represents the interests of libraries and information services as well as the users of such services worldwide.
- Libraries are major purchasers of information in print, analogue and digital formats and wish to ensure lawful, equitable access to knowledge contained in such works.
- IFLA believes that the economic rights of information providers must be balanced with society’s need to gain access to knowledge and that libraries play a pivotal role in this balance.
- The digital environment has the potential to support access for all members of society, especially those in developing countries and in disadvantaged groups, but this will not happen unless intellectual property laws continue to be balanced with effective limitations and exceptions.
- IFLA believes that exceptions and limitations to copyright, which exist for the public good, are being jeopardized by the increased use of technological protection measures and licensing restrictions.
The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions welcomes UNESCO’s proposal to study the use of limitations and exceptions to copyright in the digital environment. As the main voice speaking on copyright on behalf of the international library and information profession as well as our users in education, business and industry, the health sector, the voluntary and public sectors, IFLA believes that the economic rights of information providers must be balanced with society’s need to gain access to knowledge. IFLA is concerned that the increased use of licensing and technological protection is distorting the balance toward commercial interests and away from information users. This trend affects information users everywhere, but it has an even greater effect on those in developing countries.
As the world increasingly makes use of digital and online technologies to create and distribute knowledge and culture, questions of digital copyright become increasingly important. If humanity is to have as wide as possible access to its heritage in the online world, it is vital that the rules which govern such access (principally intellectual property laws) are considered fully and properly by a wide range of affected stakeholders. UNESCO’s proud tradition of promoting the creation and dissemination of the world’s cultural heritage makes it well suited to this task.
What is copyright?
Before any consideration of ‘fair use’ limitations upon copyright in the digital environment, it is first necessary to consider what copyright is and why balance is so important.
Copyright can be defined as a person’s exclusive right to authorize certain acts (such as reproduction, publication, public performance, adaptation etc.) in relation to his or her original work of authorship. The creator of the work typically owns the copyright, at least initially. However, copyright is often sold or assigned, in whole or in part, to a commercial publisher, a filmmaker, a recording studio or to someone else who will exploit the work commercially. As a consequence, copyright often benefits commercial interests more than individual authors.
Copyright law has long emphasised that copyright protection does not exist for its own sake but rather to serve the public interest. To take one prominent example, the Constitution of the United States declares that the purpose of copyright in that country is: ‘To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries.’ Similarly, the world’s first copyright law, the English Statute of Anne (1710) stated that its purpose was to ‘encourage learning.’
The greater public interest is served in two ways: firstly, by giving authors an ince