Re: Prospero, transient copies, and copyright

On 1/6/2000, Eric Eldred <eldred[_at_]eldritchpress.org> wrote:
>
> Does Prospero state that the PDF file is in fact printable,
> or does their software lock out printing and editing when
> it saves the PDF file? (Perhaps this will make a difference
> when considering if the copying is an infringement.)

Yes, the file is printable. The purpose is to allow the patron, rather than the library, print out the copy obtained through ILL services.

No, edits *can not* be made to the file.

> Does Prospero have any system for payment to the Copyright
> Clearance Center as with photocopying?

It is up to each library to manage their own CCC activities.

> (Seems to me that one might treat this just as a library photocopying
> a book for interlibrary loan.

That is how we see it, except we are generally talking about journal articles for education and research purposes.

> The only difference might be that digital copies are easier to make,
> without royalty to the copyright owner, so some mechanism, no matter
> how slight, might need to be introduced to try to head off the
> pirating of the work, just to satisfy the copyright owner in case
> she becomes troubled about the practice. If a good analogy with a
> current practice such as photocopying can be established, this might
> avoid disagreements later.

A patron can take a print copy any article obtained through ILL services, photocopy it, and pirate it. Once a copy of an ILL item is in the hands of the patron, copyright responsibility shifts to the patron.

Yes, digital copies may be easier to make, but not by much. If a copyright owner is worried about E-ILL services, they should be equally concerned about the general availabilty of photocopiers and scanners.

-Eric

Eric Schnell
Assistant Professor
Head, Automation Services
Prior Health Sciences Library
The Ohio State University
schnell.9[_at_]osu.edu / 614-292-4870
http://bones.med.ohio-state.edu/eric.html Received on Mon Jan 10 2000 - 20:40:13 GMT