Re: Scanning books into electronic format

>Conversion from printed form to an electronic form is likely also a
>derivative work (not merely just a copy or reproduction) and the
>right to create derivative works is also an exclusive right of the
>copyright owner.

Why am I reminded of a press release from the RIAA?

Yes, the right to create derivative works is an exclusive right, subject as are all copyright rights to the limits of fair use.

If you look at the criteria for fair use, there is a fairly strong argument in favor of it here. The purpose of the electronic copy is for research, it's essnential to scan the whole book to create a usable index, and since the intention is to scan only books of which already have a paper copy, the effect on the potential market is minimal.

As far as I know, there's no case law here, but given all the foofaraw about the Google Print project, I expect there will be before long.

Regards,
John Levine, johnl[_at_]iecc.com, Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies", Information Superhighwayman wanna-be, http://www.johnlevine.com, Mayor "More Wiener schnitzel, please", said Tom, revealingly. Received on Wed Sep 06 2006 - 19:45:00 GMT