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PubMed Central Deposit and Author Rights: Agreements between 12 Publishers and the Authors Subject to the NIH Public Access Policy

This paper, in an effort to help authors make informed choices about their rights, compares and contrasts how the agreements of 12 publishers permit authors to meet the requirements of the NIH Public Access Policy and share their works while they are under embargo.

pdf grillot-pubmed-aug08.pdf

 
 

A Guide For the Perplexed Part IV: The Rejection of the Google Books Settlement

On March 22, 2011, Judge Denny Chin rejected the proposed settlement in copyright infringement litigation over the Google Library Project. Judge Chin found that the settlement was not "fair, reasonable, and adequate" as required by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Judge Chin issued the decision over a year after the fairness hearing he conducted. His opinion agrees in large measure with the objections to the settlement asserted by the U.S. Department of Justice at the hearing and in its written submissions. This paper discusses the opinion and where it leaves Google Books Search.

pdf guide-for-perplexed-part4-apr11.pdf

 
 

How Fair Use Prevailed in the Harry Potter Case

In a highly publicized decision issued on September 8, 2008, US District Court Judge Robert Patterson ruled that Steven Vander Ark's Harry Potter Lexicon infringed J.K. Rowling's copyright. Although J. K. Rowling prevailed in the litigation, the big winner actually was fair use.

pdf band-harry-potter-29sept08.pdf

 
 

Summary of International Copyright and IP Activities

At the urging of the United States, a new "digital agenda" recently has been added to the range of issues under consideration in a long-running series of negotiations convened by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Currently, the U.S. is pressing for the early conclusion of international agreements on a number of issues as to which the Congress has yet to legislate and the U.S. copyright community remains deeply divided. In the longer term, this effort to shape global intellectual property policy before achieving domestic consensus could have the unintended consequence of jeopardizing both the U.S. leadership role in the field and the interests of U.S. copyright-related industries and institutions.

pdf summary-intl-ip-2001.pdf

 
 

A New Day for the DMCA: The Chamberlain and Lexmark Decisions

Recent circuit-level decisions in Chamberlain v. Skylink and Lexmark v. Static Control Components interpreted the Digital Millenium Copyright Act in a manner that will prevent its use to restrict legitimate competition in after-market components. By placing on plaintiffs the burden of proving intent to infringe copyright, judges on both panels not only dictate the correct outcome in these cases, but also provided defendants in other cases a way to short-circuit litigation when infringement is nowhere to be seen. Published in Electronic & Commerce Law Vol. 9 No. 45 (November 2004).

pdf band-dmca-chamberlain-lexmark-24nov04.pdf

 
   

Briefing Paper: Key Elements of the NIH Molecular Libraries Initiative - The Molecular Libraries Screening Center Network and PubChem

In order to identify those small molecules that will have the greatest effect on a disease or biological process, NIH will soon be awarding grants to a number of academic centers throughout the United States that will constitute the Molecular Libraries Screening Center Network (MLSCN). Critical to the success of this initiative and the work of the Centers is PubChem, a publicly available database that includes information about the biological activities of chemical compounds.

pdf nih-molecular-lib-initiative-08jun05.pdf

 
 

ARL Comments on NIH Revised Public Access Policy

These comments on the revised NIH Public Access Policy are submitted on behalf of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). Public support for science is enhanced when the public sees the benefits from our Nation's investment in scientific research. There is no doubt that scientific research is advanced by greater access to and dissemination of knowledge and the building upon the work of others.

pdf nih-public-access-arl-comments-may08.pdf

 
 

Ad Hoc Task Force to Review the Proposed OCLC Policy for Use and Transfer of WorldCat Records: Final Report to the ARL Board

The release of a new "OCLC Policy for Use and Transfer of WorldCat Records" initiated an outpouring of concern in the research library community. ARL directors asked that ARL investigate the policy and its ramifications for the community. In response, the ARL Executive Committee established an Ad Hoc Task Force to review the Policy and identify issues of particular interest to research libraries.

pdf oclc-report-jan09.pdf

 
 

The Digital Millenium Copyright Act: Highlights of New Copyright Provision Establishing Limitation of Liability for Online Service Providers

One of the principal provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") is a limitation on the potential money damages that Online Service Providers ("OSPs"), including libraries and educational institutions, could face when they function like a common carrier, allowing online users access to copyrighted material placed there by someone else. Rather than confront huge financial claims if the third party material infringes someone's copyright, OSPs can escape liability provided they comply with these new rules.

pdf dmca-highlights-limitation-of-liability.pdf

 
 

Orphan Works Legislation

The orphan works legislation is intended to enable someone, after conducting a "qualifying search" for the owner, to use an orphan work--a copyrighted work whose owner cannot be located.

pdf owlegislation.pdf

 
 

Part II: Detailed Responses to Section 108 Working Group Questions

The American Library Association and the Association of Research Libraries convened a workshop to consider and receive additional input from members of the library and archival communities regarding the deliberations of the Section 108 Study Group. The Section 108 Study Group is examining the exceptions and limitations available to libraries and archives under Section 108 of the Copyright Act and considering changes to better meet the needs of libraries and archives in the digital environment.

pdf part-ii-detailed-responses-to-section-108-working-group-questions.pdf

 
 

Presentation for ARL Directors on the Survey of ARL Depository Libraries: The Likert Scale

This survey was sent to all ARL Selective Depository Libraries and to all Regional Depository Libraries (the majority of which are also ARL Libraries). It was designed to enable ARL to study the current problems, successes, and future of the Federal Depository Library Program with a total concentration on research libraries. The Likert scale discussed here provides us with a current snapshot of both types of Depository Libraries.

pdf speckit-fdlpsurvey-likert.pdf

 
   

Primer on the Digital Millenium: What the Digital Millenium Copyright Act and the Copyright Term Extension Act Mean for the Library Community

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA"), which is the centerpiece of the legislative strategy for the Clinton Administration and Congressional leaders responsible for copyright bills, was passed in the closing days of the 105th Congress. It is a very complex Act, which generated controversy and left unfinished business in its wake. As a result, high on the list of "must-dos" for the 106th Congress will be issues leftover from the DMCA.

pdf primer-digital-millenium1999.pdf

 
 

ARL Survey of Regional Depository Libraries: Summary of Likert Analysis

Use of the Likert scale in the ARL Survey of Regional and ARL Selective Federal Depository Libraries provides a current snapshot of Regional Depository Libraries. Regional respondents were asked to respond to 21 statements.

pdf fdlp-likert-regional-results.pdf

 
 

Resource Packet on Orphan Works: Legal and Policy Issues for Research Libraries

There is long-standing interest in identifying orphan works, books that are subject to copyright but whose copyright holders cannot be identified or contacted. Orphan works comprise a significant percentage of ARL collections, and there is deep interest in making these works discoverable and more accessible. Recently, the University of Michigan announced the initiation of the Orphan Works Project. The focus of the project is on US digitized books held by HathiTrust, a partnership of major research institutions and libraries working to ensure that the cultural record is preserved and accessible long into the future.

pdf resource_orphanworks_13sept11.pdf

 
 

ARL Survey of ARL Selective Depository Libraries - Summary of Likert Analysis

Use of the Likert scale in the ARL Survey of ARL Selective Federal Depository Libraries provides a current snapshot of Selecive Depository Libraries. Selectives respondents were asked to respond to 19 statements.

pdf fdlp-selective-depository-libraries-survey.pdf

 
 

Documents for a Digital Democracy: A Model for the Federal Depository Library Program in the 21st Century Interim Summary

In June 2009, the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA) retained Ithaka S+R to propose a comprehensive framework for the Federal Depository Library Program ("FDLP" or the "Program") in response to changes in the environment for information dissemination and usage. New approaches must take advantage of the opportunities presented by today's digital and networking technologies to deliver services to users more effectively, more broadly, and at lower cost. For this project, Ithaka S+R staff interviewed more than 80 individuals from 30 libraries, the Government Printing Office (GPO), and a number of other key organizations. The FDLP serves a variety of needs across a number of communities, and in this project Ithaka S+R has taken a systemwide perspective in an attempt to understand the needs of all stakeholders. This summary presents a high-level overview of the project's interim findings and recommendations.

pdf summary-ithaka-fdlp-09.pdf

 
 

The ALA and ARL Position on Access and Digital Preservation: A Response to the Section 108 Study Group

In response to issues raised by initiatives such as the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP), in spring 2005 the U.S. Copyright Office and the Library of Congress convened the Section 108 Study Group. The Study Group is charged to investigate whether Section 108 of the Copyright Act, which grants exceptions to libraries and archives, should be updated to better address the use of digital technologies and networked-based resources.

pdf dig-preservation-study-response-09nov06.pdf

 
 

Publisher Mergers: A Consumer-Based Approach to Antitrust Analysis

In this paper, the Information Access Alliance (Alliance) describes the issues that have emerged as the industry has become increasingly concentrated and advocates for a new standard of antitrust review that we urge be adopted by state and federal antitrust enforcement agencies in examining merger transactions in the serials publishing industry.

pdf iaa-publisher-mergers-jun03.pdf

 
 
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