Book People Archive

Re: Abandonment (Was Re: Redeeming copyright)

You didn't hear this from me...  :)

My husband's library will make a copy of a book from an out-of-library-system
facility to use.  He says it's something about "fair use" if the book is
out-of-print and the library has gone through every possible channel to find the
book for purchase and failed.

I don't think he is really talking about recent books though and he seems to
really be referring to manuscripts, old textbooks, foreign language books, etc.

Kate

On Wed, 21 Feb 2001 15:35:32 -0500, Eric Eldred wrote:

>On Tue, Feb 20, 2001 at 10:19:29PM -0500, Rod Hay wrote:
>> There is in the common law, a right to appropriate abandoned property.
Could it
>> not be argued that a book that has been out of print for a certain number of
>> years has been abandoned, and therefore available to all comers.
>
>The U.S. Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 does have a provision
>allowing libraries to copy works, in the last year of copyright term,
>if the work has no commercial value.  Check the law for details;
>the provision is complicated, perhaps self-contradictory.
>
>I continue to ask librarians and archivists to use that provision
>to make works accessible.  I have not yet heard that any library
>or archive has done so.  So now it is time to renew the request.
>What is holding them back?  Is it that the law is confused and
>unclear?  Would it allow the work to be shared with other libraries
>or even posted on the Internet for all users of the library online?
>Do we need an attorney's assistance in obtaining such clarification?
>Would the "library or archive" wording permit an Internet-only library
>to use this provision?  If such a work were posted online, would users
>in non-U.S. countries be able to read the works without fear of
>infringing copyright?
>
>Rod's point is good.  The common law has evolved with user needs.
>It has strong justification for its existence.  The codification
>of law and regulations, intended to replace common law, may not
>suffice.  Technology moves at ever-increasing speed, it seems.
>Should the current crop of copyright holders enjoy a perpetual
>monopoly on obsolete business practices?  Will libraries and
>archives adapt?  Do they have the political power and will to
>keep up with the times?  Or will they too be abandoned along with
>their old books, the common law, and the rights of men and women?