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Salinger v. Colting: Amicus Brief

Brief of Amici Curiae American Library Association, Association of Research Libraries, Association of College and Research Libraries, The Organizations for Transformative Works and the Right to Write Fund in support of the defendants.

pdf amicus-salinger-03aug09.pdf

 
 

SPEC Kit 310: Author Addenda (July 2009)

SPEC Kit 310 explores how ARL member libraries are promoting the use of author addenda by researchers at their institutions. Respondents were asked to provide information on the use of author addenda at  their institutions, which rights authors were encouraged to retain, and the methods by which libraries were conducting promotion and outreach efforts on the topic of author rights and addenda. This SPEC Kit includes documentation from respondents in the form of sample addenda, brochures, handouts, and author rights Web sites and slides from presentations to faculty and library staff.

This publication is available for purchase in both online and print versions. Download the spec-kit-purchase-options-2013.pdf  for complete pricing and purchase options information.

Link to the online SPEC Kit 310 on the ARL Digital Publications website.

 
 

A Guide for the Perplexed Part II: The Amended Google-Michigan Agreement

On May 20, 2009, Google and the University of Michigan (Michigan) entered into an amendment that expanded the 2004 agreement that allowed Google to scan books in the Michigan library for inclusion in Google's search database. The new agreement (the Amendment) addresses the provisions of the proposed settlement agreement between Google and the plaintiffs in the Google Book Search litigation.

pdf google-michigan-12jun09.pdf

 
     

In the Matter of Facilitating Access to Copyrighted Works for the Blind or Persons with Other Disabilities

Comments from ALA, ACRL, and ARL address the need for improved and expanded access to copyrighted works for the blind and persons with other disabilities.

pdf noi-comments-print-disabilities-28apr09.pdf

 
   

ALA, ARL, ACRL Host Meeting of Experts to Discuss Google Book Search Settlement

Members of library community discussed the implications of the Google Book Search settlement in a meeting hosted on February 9, 2009, in Washington, DC, by the American Library Association Washington Office, the Association of Research Libraries, and the Association of College & Research Libraries.

pdf gbs-dc-meeting-summary12feb09.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

 
   

A Victory For Media Neutrality: The Eleventh Circuit's En Banc Decision in Greenberg v. National Geographic Society (Jul. 9, 2008)

Sitting en banc, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on June 30, 2008, decided Greenberg v. National Geographic Society, finding that the CD-ROM set, "The Complete National Geographic" (CNG), was a privileged revision of a collective work under 17 U.S.C. § 201(c) and not a "new collective work" in violation of Mr. Greenberg's copyrights. This case is in line with the Second Circuit's decision in Faulkner v. National Geographic Enters., further clarified the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in New York Times Co. v. Tasini, and importantly, upheld the "long embraced doctrine of media neutrality" that the "transfer of a work between media does not alter the character of that work for copyright purposes."

pdf greenberg-v-natgeo-summary-09jul08.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

 
     

Letter to Howard L. Berman and Howard Coble re: H.R. 5889 (May 5, 2008)

Letter from the Library Copyright Alliance expressing appreciation for the introduction of H.R. 5889, which limits remedies in copyright infringement cases involving orphan works.

pdf lt-berman-coble-hr5889-05may08.pdf

 
         

The Threat Posed By Inflated Statutory Damages: Comments on the January 25, 2008 Meeting Hosted by the Copyright Office

The PRO IP Act (H.R. 4279) proposes to weaken the long established "one work" rule, which today imposes a measure of certainty on how copyright statutory damages are calculated. Under currentlaw, a copyright plaintiff may seek up to $150,000 per work infringed. In the case of compilations, the one work rule recognizes that the compilation is being marketed as one work, although it may in fact consist of multiple components. Section 104 of the PRO IP Act seeks to undo a central underpinning of statutory damages: ensuring that the damages award for infringement of a compilation does not result in catastrophic multiple awards through a separate award for each component of that compilation.

pdf inflate-stat-damages-104comments-25jan08.pdf

 
   

Educational Fair Use Today

Three recent appellate decisions concerning fair use should give educators and librarians greater confidence and guidance for asserting this important privilege. In all three decisions, the courts permitted extensive copying and display in the commercial context because the uses involved repurposing and recontextualization. The reasoning of these opinions could have far-reaching implications in the educational environment.

pdf band-edu-fair-use-today-dec07.pdf

 
 

Greenberg v. National Geographic Society: Amicus Brief in support of National Geographic Society

Two photographers claimed that the inclusion of their photographs in the National Geographic Society's (NGS) CD-ROM version of the NGS magazine violated their copyrights and that the NGS was not exempt under Section 201(c) of the Copyright Act.

pdf amici-greenberg-18oct07.pdf

 
 

Greenberg v. National Geographic Society, Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida (Jun. 13, 2007)

This case presents the question of whether Section 201(c) of the Copyright Act accords a magazine publisher a privilege to produce a digital compilation that contains exact images of its past magazine issues.

pdf greenbergreversal13june07.pdf

 
 

Libraries Support H.R. 107, Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act

H.R. 107, the Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act, is needed to restore a proper balance in copyright law between the rights of copyright users and the rights of copyright owners--a balance that is essential to the future conduct of research and education in the digital age.

pdf 107libstatement23june04.pdf

 
 

Fair Use in the U.S. Economy: Economic Contribution of Industries Relying on Fair Use [executive summary]

While policymakers pay much attention to copyrights, exceptions to copyright protection also promote innovation and are a major catalyst of U.S. economic growth. Specific exceptions to copyright protection under U.S. and international law, generally classified under the broad heading of Fair Use, are vital to many industries and stimulate growth across the economy.

pdf ccia-fair-use-study-exec-2006.pdf

 
   

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