Re: Users' rights under Berne Protocol

I wrote:
>
> What I would like to suggest is that the Berne Protocol include a
> single provision that brings these threads together to create a general
> 'fair use' right that can be applied to all subject matter and all
> protected rights.
>
> (1) It shall be a matter for legislation in the countries parties to
> this Protocol to provide for exceptions to the rights protected under
> this Protocol and under the Berne Convention for purposes such as
> reporting current events or the news of the day, reporting political,
> legal, economic, religious or other public activities, teaching,
> research or study, and criticism or review, provided that such
> exceptions are compatible with fair practice, and the extent of the
> exception is justified by the purpose.
>
> (2) It shall be a matter for legislation in the countries parties to
> this Protocol to provide for exceptions to the rights protected under
> this Protocol and under the Berne Convention provided that such
> exceptions do not conflict with a normal exploitation of the work and
> do not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the author.

And on Thu, 25 Apr 1996, Mike Holderness replied:
>
> ... Sorry, but the language is going to have to be a
> _lot_ tighter to achieve what I think you want. The draft above
> gives publishers room to drive a coach and horses through, with
> the express intention of crushing authors (me, for example). And,
> relatively weakly organised though we authors may be, I think we
> know how to stop most countries voting for something as vague as
> what you propose.

My comment, by way of rejoinder:

The simple fact is that the language I propose is _already_ scattered about in the Berne Convention. All I am saying is that it should be pulled together in one spot and simplified a bit. This is not, in my humble opinion, the sort of clause that would allow anyone to 'crush' authors. It's about putting the public interest first and saying that authors' rights are wonderful, but sometimes the public interest is best served by providing for exceptions, where this is _compatible with fair practice_ or _not unreasonably prejudicial_ to the author, and so on ... You can hardly say that it's unfair to introduce an element of 'fairness' to the law of copyright, can you?

     | jamie wodetzki
   \ / copyright research officer
 a c l i s
   / \ no responsibility taken for damage or harm arising from     / \ reliance on comments made by me in this context Received on Wed May 01 1996 - 08:28:50 GMT