Re: Electronic libraries (Was: Re: copyright expiration ...)

Albert Henderson <noblestation[_at_]compuserve.com> wrote:
>
> Recalling the first decade after the introduction of the
> first plain-paper copier, the Xerox model 914, the publishers
> of research journals that I knew had little problem with
> researchers making copies of articles from journals in, or
> circulated by, their libraries. It seems to me that if
> universities had not abused the advantage given by "library
> photocopying" in the Copyright Act of 1976 -- cancelling
> thousands of subscriptions, reducing purchases of monographs,
> falsely accusing publishers of profiteering, and researchers
> of excess publishing -- we would not be worrying about the
> need for a new economic basis for free distribution of
> learned communications.

Again, I'm one of the non-lawyers in this conversation, so I don't know when I'm retreading familiar ground but....

This debate seems to be covering many of the issues raised in the case of Williams & Wilkins vs. United States, which concerned copyright infringement in the form of institutionalized photocopying by the National Medical Library. This is the subject of a long chapter in Paul Goldstein's "Copyright's Highway" (Hill and Wang, 1994). I picked this up today, very interesting read.

Williams & Wilkins raises the issues of what constitutes fair use, publisher impacts of photocopying, economics of academic journals, and other issues discussed here recently.

-- 
Karsten M. Self (kmself[_at_]ix.netcom.com)

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