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
Publishers highlight continued copyright concerns in Canada and China - February 9, 2015
Canada's undefined 'education as fair dealing exception' continues to significantly undermine the rights of authors and publishers of educational materials, according to the Association of American Publishers (AAP). This and other concerns were recently submitted by the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) on behalf of the… Read More
Authors Guild v. HathiTrust litigation ends in victory for fair use - January 9, 2015
For the past several years, HathiTrust and five of its member universities have been engaged in litigation after being sued by the Authors Guild. On January 6, 2015, the parties entered a settlement on the sole issue remaining before the district court, ending the litigation in… Read More
redOrbit.com partners with iCopyright to protect, promote, syndicate and monetise content - October 17, 2014
Science Matters Media LLC's redOrbit.com has announced a new partnership with Seattle-based iCopyright to provide an intelligent copyright system for the distribution of redOrbit's digital content. iCopyright will work with redOrbit.com to protect, promote, syndicate and monetize its content – from news and editorial articles, to… Read More
Libraries and archives leave international copyright discussions empty handed after countries fail to reach agreement again - July 15, 2014
Discussions regarding an international copyright instrument for libraries and archives again collapsed inconclusively at the 28th meeting of the Standing Committee on Copyright & Related Rights (SCCR) in Geneva, from June30 – July 4. In the early hours of July 5, Member States finally 'agreed to… Read More
