SPARC applauds Senate Committee action on public access legislation - July 30, 2015
The Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) has passed S. 779, the Fair Access to Science and Technology Research (FASTR) Act, unanimously by voice vote and moved it to the full Senate for consideration. This marks the first time the Senate has acted on… Read More
Ukrainian authors and writers criticise new state open access initiative - July 29, 2015
Ukrainian writers and authors are reportedly on the verge of massive protests, due to a recent initiative of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) to conduct digitalisation and online publishing of all of the books and documents stored in the national archives and libraries. According to an official spokesman of… Read More
IFLA expresses concern over extension of copyright terms - July 21, 2015
Members of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) have expressed their concern over the recent copyright changes in Jamaica and Canada that extend the term of copyright protection. A rich public domain and fair access to copyright protected material enhances creativity and the… Read More
European Commission opens formal antitrust investigation into Amazon’s e-book distribution arrangements - June 16, 2015
The European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation into certain business practices by Amazon in the distribution of electronic books ("e-books"). The Commission will in particular investigate certain clauses included in Amazon's contracts with publishers. These clauses require publishers to inform Amazon about more favourable… Read More
ARL publishes issue brief on the US Copyright Office’s Report on Orphan Works - June 15, 2015
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has published an issue brief on the US Copyright Office's June 4, 2015, Report on Orphan Works and Mass Digitization, which includes recommendations for legislation on orphan works - copyrighted works whose owners are impossible to identify or contact -… Read More
ALA president calls for digital transformation of Copyright Office - June 15, 2015
American Library Association (ALA) president Courtney Young responded to the introduction of the Copyright Office for the Digital Economy Act (CODE Act) by Representatives Judy Chu (D-CA) and Tom Marino (R-PA). For more than 20 years, content creators, rights holders, legislators and public users alike… Read More
Text and data mining in the EU: Legal certainty already exists - May 21, 2015
The International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers (STM) has noted the desire expressed in the 'Communication on Single Digital Market Strategy for Europe' issued on 6 May 2015 for legal certainty around the use of copyright-protected materials, including across borders, for text mining. STM… Read More
Google to spend EUR150 million in Europe on grants for digital journalism experimentation - May 4, 2015
Amid increasing tensions with EU regulators and publishers, internet giant Google announced that it will spend EUR150 million ($164 million) in Europe on grants for digital journalism experimentation. Additionally, the organisation said it will work with European newspapers and journalism organisations to create items and… Read More
ARL joins new Re:Create coalition to promote balanced copyright - April 29, 2015
ARL joined US technology companies, trade associations, and civil society organisations in the launch of Re:Create, a coalition that promotes balanced copyright policy. A balanced copyright system depends on limitations and exceptions, such as fair use. As technology advances, it is imperative that the copyright law… Read More
Ebooks are an ‘electronic service’ and subject to higher tax, rules EU court - March 10, 2015
The EU's highest court recently ruled that the European Union countries may not extend tax exemptions for books to include ebooks, adding that it considers downloadable ebooks to be services. E-books must be subject to the full rate of value-added tax (VAT), the court ruled. … Read More
