[BOAI] EFF Backs Libraries in Battle Over Book Digitization

[Carolina Rossini]

-------- Original Message --------  Subject: [E-S] EFF Backs Libraries in
Battle Over Book Digitization  Date: Mon, 09 Jul 2012 08:46:27 -0700  From: EFF
Press <press at eff.org> <press at eff.org>  Reply-To: press at eff.org  To:
presslist at eff.org

Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Release

For Immediate Release: Monday, July 09, 2012

Contact:

Corynne McSherry
  Intellectual Property Director
  Electronic Frontier Foundation
  corynne at eff.org
  +1 415 436-9333 x122

EFF Backs Libraries in Battle Over Book Digitization

Authors Guild Suit Against Reference Uses Flies in the Face
of Fair Use

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
has joined several national library associations in urging
a federal court to find that the fair use doctrine
permitted the creation of a valuable digital library.

Although the case was filed long after the more famous
Google Books lawsuit, Authors Guild v. HathiTrust presents
a similar issue: whether digitization of books without
granting full text access to the public is a legal fair use
of copyrighted material.  For the past seven years, major
university libraries have been collaborating with Google to
digitize their collections, with one result being the
creation of the HathiTrust Digital Library (HDL).  Via the
HDL, more than 60 university and research libraries can
store, secure, and search their digital collections. With
the exception of some patrons who have disabilities, HDL
does not allow for users to access books in their entirety
– it simply does a search for keywords and delivers titles
and page numbers as results.  Nonetheless, the Authors
Guild claims its members are due compensation in exchange
for being included in the collection.  In an amicus brief
filed Friday, EFF and the American Library Association, the
Association of College and Research Libraries, and the
Association of Research Libraries argue that the copying of
books for a database like the HDL is a clear case of fair
use, and obviously in the public interest.

"The HDL doesn't give most users whole copies of a book.
Instead, libraries use the HDL to search for books titles
that they should borrow or purchase for their users," said
EFF Intellectual Property Director Corynne McSherry.  "This
is a highly detailed map – a reference tool – and doesn't
take the place of book sales. This is just the kind of fair
use that copyright law is supposed to protect."

For the full amicus brief in The Authors Guild v.
HathiTrust:https://www.eff.org/node/71166

For this release:https://www.eff.org/press/releases/eff-backs-libraries-battle-over-book-digitization

About EFF

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading
organization protecting civil liberties in the digital
world. Founded in 1990, we defend free speech online, fight
illegal surveillance, promote the rights of digital
innovators, and work to ensure that the rights and freedoms
we enjoy are enhanced, rather than eroded, as our use of
technology grows. EFF is a member-supported organization.
Find out more at https://www.eff.org.


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-- 
*Carolina Rossini*
Support OER in Brazil!
www.rea.net.br
+ 1 6176979389
*carolina.rossini at gmail.com*
(for www.eff.org related matters, pls contact me at carolina at eff.org)
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