Copyright Law & Policy: Advocating for Libraries

Transcript:Copyright Law & Policy: Advocating for Libraries:
Copyright Law & Policy: Advocating for Libraries Carrie Russell Office for Information Technology American Library Association 2016 Kraemer Copyright Conference University of Colorado – Colorado Springs The Garden of the Gods!! June 7, 2016 Garden of the Gods Garden of the Gods Beer The Plan Provide a brief DC legislative update Tell you the cold, hard truth Show you that it is not as bad as it seems But then again, tell you the cold, hard truth My thoughts – what you can do to advocate for the public’s right to information We work with coalitions Library Copyright Alliance (LCA) ALA-WO, ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries), ARL (Association of Research Libraries) Developed in response to international copyright treaties (1990s) and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (1998) Share legislative counsel Represent US libraries in both federal and international copyright law Copyright review, comments, and more comments, testimony www.librarycopyrightalliance.org Re:create Technology associations, new creators, civil society, libertarians, and libraries Provide alternative to dominant rhetoric Balance, fair use, free expression, new creators, innovation, making copyright more understandable Most activity around copyright review, CO NOIs, USPTO requests, a little international trade, events for legislative staff www.recreatecoalition.org Marrakesh Treaty Open Society, blind community, informal Hill visits Copyright is Highly Political Currently, it is the Content industry vs. Internet Legacy players want to maintain status quo Legacy players want internet companies to police the web New companies want flexibility in testing new business models Copyright Office wants more authority, favors rights holders Civil society groups stand on principles, sometimes without representing any particular group The Library Copyright Alliance (LCA) wants to preserve existing exceptions, broaden understanding of fair use, do no harm New creators want copyright to not stand in their way Little attention paid to the educators, learners, innovators, new creators who are impacted by copyright everyday Freak Out Nation, “Woman goes all second amendment on shoplifters” http://freakoutnation.com/2015/10/michigan-woman-goes-all-second-amendment-on-shoplifting-suspects/ The power struggle can be rather intense “The Next Great Copyright Act” Immediate response, Dear God in Heaven! Sure it sounds good on paper… Lobbying effort, 20+ hearings, numerous reports and Notice of Inquiry (NOIs) Congress would love if the stakeholders would agree on something, go away and work it out (please) Fair use run amok Kids these days… Pondering… What are they thinking? -Building a legacy? -Changing the law to “correct” the courts? -Helping the librarians understand that they are infringing? -Exercising domination over