Re: "Thumbnails" of scanned pages from copyrighted texts

Mary Larsgaard wrote:
>
> I have a meeting coming up early next week on the legal side of
> displaying over the Web thumbnails (that is, very small images -
> kilobytes) of scanned pages from copyright texts. Judging from
> what is printed on the verso of the title page of the texts:
>
> "Neither this book nor any part may be reproduced or transmitted
> in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
> photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or by an information
> storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from
> the publisher."
>
> it seems clear to me that without written permission from the publisher,
> these thumbnails may not be displayed. Is this correct? Please reply
> to me at:

Which is interesting in the light of our discussion on shrink-wrap licences being applied to works other than software. Isn't that precisely what this verso is attempting to do? It attempts to impose conditions on the purchaser above those granted by the copyright law which, if the book is shrinkwrapped, are not brought to the attention of the purchaser at time of purchase.

The fact is fair use and the substantial part doctrine certainly allow reproduction and transmission of parts of the book in some circumstances.

Tim Arnold-Moore, LL.B. (Melb)      | Multimedia Database Systems, CITRI  |
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