Re: Library Inter-Library Loan Service

On Fri, Jul 23, 1999, Matthew Wright <matwright[_at_]UBmail.ubalt.edu> wrote:
>
> The University of Baltimore Law Library offers an Inter Library Loan
> service to a private law firm in the Baltimore area. The ILL service
> uses scanning technology to post the requested documents on a secret
> law library web page. This prevents the need for faxing. The web
> page is not password protected but there is no link to it from the
> library's home page.
>
> This is how the service works. The law library has a private URL to
> receive the ILL requests. The URL is not linked to any page on the
> library's web page. The URL is privately given out to a particular
> local law firm. Once the library receives the ILL request, the library
> retrieves the necessary items, scans the items and posts them to the
> private URL. The law firm can then go to that web page and print out
> a scanned version of the document. The documents stay up no more than
> four days.
>
> We have been told that this service may be in violation of the copyright
> law. We would like to know whether subscribers think it is illegal and
> why. We are wondering why this would be any different than merely
> faxing the law firm photocopies of documents. We also wonder whether it
> is relevant that thus far, only one law firm in Baltimore knows the URL.
> The library has contemplated expanding the service by offering it to
> other firms.
>
> Any bibliographic references would be appreciated.

You did not mention whether the material posted on the "private" or "secret" web page (which are not labels I would use to describe the web page) was copyright protected. If so, and the fact that the website ILL doesn't exactly sound like an educational use of copyright material, I think this practice could create problems. I am not sure whether the faxed documents were permissible, either. You need to give us more information. Are you posting or faxing complete, copyright protected documents? Is it for an ostensible educational purpose?

Rod Dixon, J.D., LL.M.
Visiting Assistant Professor of Law
Rutgers University School of Law - Camden rod[_at_]cyberspaces.org
http://www.cyberspaces.org/
<rod[_at_]thedcnews.com> Received on Wed Jul 28 1999 - 10:43:28 GMT