Copyright in the networked world: multimedia fair use
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000006544 |
| Published date | 01 December 2001 |
| Date | 01 December 2001 |
| Pages | 422-425 |
| Author | Michael Seadle |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
Copyright in the
networked world:
multimedia fair use
Michael Seadle
One of the curiosities of the modern copyright
world is its (apparent) failure to reproduce
print-based patterns for the legal use of digital
materials. It is a curiosity in two senses:
(1) because the vast majority of reasonably
educated people seem to expect it; and
(2) because legal reasoning relies heavily on
analogy.
This column examines a ``non-legislative''
report on ``Fair use guidelines for educational
multimedia'', which the Subcommittee on
Courts and Intellectual Property of the
Committee on the Judiciary of the US House of
Representatives adopted in 1996 (US House of
Representatives, 1996). The report has no legal
standing. It is neither statute law nor case law,
nor even a resolution of the whole of the House
of Representatives. It may offer some protection
in an infringement suit. Its narrow, safe-harbor
limits may also seduce people into giving up
broader fair use rights than would be necessary,
if the print-world analogy were applied.
Origin and support
The house subcommittee which adopted the
guidelines did not actually write them. That was
done by the Consortium of College and
University Media Centers, which brought
together a group of interested parties to draft a
set of agreements. An impressive list of
organizations has endorsed the guidelines,
including the Association of American
Publishers, the Information Industry
Association, the Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI),
the Association of American Colleges and
Universities, the Motion Picture Association of
America, Recording Industry Association of
America (RIAA), and the Special Libraries
Association (SLA). US government agencies
that officially support the guidelines include:
the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA),
the Copyright Office, and the Patent and
Trademark Office.
A number of library associations participated
in the discussions but did not endorse the
results, including: the American Library
Association, the Association of College
Research Libraries, and the Association of
Research Libraries. This does not necessarily
The author
Michael Seadle is Editor of
Library Hi Tech
. He is also
Digital Services and Copyright Librarian at Michigan State
University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
Keywords
Copyright, Multimedia, Presentation graphics, Music
Abstract
This column examines a ``non-legislative''report on ``Fair use
guidelines for educational multimedia''. Although the
guidelines have serious flaws, they offer several positive
features: they recognize that fair use applies to multimedia,
they include photographs and numeric databases, and they
provide easily understood metrics for the amount of material
that can be used.
Electronic access
The research register for this journal is available at
http://www.mcbup.com/research_registers
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is
available at
http://www.emerald-library.com/ft
On copyright
422
Library Hi Tech
Volume 19 .Number 4 .2001 .pp. 422±425
#MCB University Press .ISSN 0737-8831
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