A Response to “A Reader’s Guide to Copyright”
A few days ago, the great blog TeleRead pointed us in the direction of a post from the Adventures in Writing blog called “A Reader’s Guide to Copyright.” The Copyright Advisory Network, through the blog, forums, and wiki resources, continually works to educate librarians, teachers, and the general public about copyright. Like many others, we hope to cut through some of the FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) surrounding copyright and educate users so that they may use copyrighted materials in legal ways that actually align with the original intent of the copyright law. We provide commentary on “A Reader’s Guide to Copyright” below simply in order to clarify some of the confusion that we–as librarians, instructors and copyright reform advocates–see around copyright. Pieces of the original article are reproduced below in quotes, with our commentary beneath each block.
A READER’S GUIDE TO COPYRIGHT
With the introduction of the scanner, the Internet, and ebooks, copyright legal issues that readers face have become much more complex. A savvy reader should understand the simple basics of copyright to avoid running afoul of legal troubles and to avoid hurting the authors they enjoy.
Readers, and the general public, should also educate themselves so they know what rights are granted to them–the users–by the copyright law.
COPYRIGHT: The legal protection of the ownership of intellectual property including writing. From the reader’s perspective the copyright is the contents of the book.
The U.S. Constitution, in Section 1, Article 8, Section 8, says that Congress is granted the power “to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.” Copyright is solidified in Title 17 of the U.S. Code. Copyright is a bundle of exclusive rights granted to the creator of an original work. The copyright holder can exercise this bundle of rights for a limited period of time.
WHY SHOULD I CARE ABOUT COPYRIGHT?
Protecting and respecting the author’s copyright is the right thing to do.
Protecting and respecting the author’s copyright is important, but should not preclude the rights granted to users of copyrighted works. While copyright holders are privy to various exclusive rights, such as the right of reproduction, preparation of derivative works, and public performance, the copyright law also confers limitations on those rights. Section 107–the fair use provision–allows for the unauthorized use of copyrighted works for purposes such as news reporting, scholarship, and critique. Section 108–the provision providing for reproductions by libraries and archives–allows these institutions to make reproductions of copyrighted works for preservation, replacement, and additional copies for library users. The limitations on copyright are an important balance to the exclusive rights of the copyright holder.
Pitbulls disguised as copyright lawyers will attack you and your family if you use someone else’s copyrighted material illegally. “I didn’t understand the law” won’t save your rear in cases like this.
Users should realize that “I didn’t understand the law” is not an excuse for copyright infringement. But, some of the more egregious threats, lawsuits, and DMCA take down notices originate from media companies and trade associations who wish to clamp down on all uses of copyrighted work, whether they fall under a limitation or not. For example, in 2007 Universal Music filed a take down notice for the the posting of a YouTube home video of an 18-month-old baby dancing to a Prince track. Universal said that the amateur video infringed on its copyright in the Prince song. In this case, it’s the pitbulls who “didn’t understand the law” since there’s reasonable argument that the posting of the clip (with the short, poor quality audio of the song plaing in the background) was a fair use.
PAPER BOOKS
When you buy a paper book, you own the paper, but you don’t own the content which still belongs to the copyright owner. You can sell the paper, you can burn the paper, or you can stick that paper into your bookshelf, and that’s okay because you own it.
For a work to be protected by the copyright law, it needs to be “original expression that is fixed in a tangible medium.” Copyright does not protect the underlying ideas. Section 109–the first sale doctrine–allows a user to sell, give away–and yes, burn–a lawfully acquired copyrighted work.
EBOOKS
You buy the right to read the content of an ebook. You do not own the content. That means that you can’t sell an ebook to someone else. You also can’t post the ebook online for others to read, nor can you print out a copy to share with friends or to sell.
Simply because content industries wrap ebook content in digital rights management (DRM) or generate overzealous licensing agreements does not mean that users do not retain rights promised by the limitations to copyright law. Many of the same rights–such as fair use–apply as aptly in the digital realm as they do in the analog world.
Most authors and publishers don’t care if you print out a copy for yourself. Others prevent you from doing this with security software (DRM). If they don’t want you to copy it, don’t copy it.
DRM has done a really good job at turning would-be lawful users into unabashed digital lock pickers. The application of DRM and other technological protection measures (TPMs) have not made a dent in the levels of piracy. And some overbearing types of locks actually prevent users from making fair uses of copyrighted digital works. Section 1201 of the DMCA grants users the right to break certain technological protection measures in order to access a work, no matter whether the copyright holder wants you to do it or not. The Copyright Office at the Library of Congress asks for updates to these exemptions every three years.
DIGITAL AND SCANNER COPIES OF PAPER BOOKS
Making digital pictures of a book’s pages or a digital copy of the book’s words is illegal, but few publishers care if you do this for your own use if you already own a copy of the book. Most don’t care if you copy pages of a book or article for use in your research. You shouldn’t, however, make a number of copies to share with your class. It is also illegal to post the contents online.
Teachers are explicitly mentioned in Section 107 of the copyright law, which says that “teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use)” is an example of what may be considered a fair use. For years, teachers and librarians have been pressured from copyright holders and trade associations to adopt strict “guidelines” in relation to how much of a book, article, or audio recording they may use legally in the classroom. While they may provide some easy answers, these “guidelines” have no legal standing. University course content management portals allow professors to legally post copyrighted content, as long as the materials are secured and only available to students enrolled in the course.
READING ALOUD
Reading aloud to your children or privately to someone else will never be illegal. What is illegal is reading someone else’s work for profit without permission. In other words, you can read A CAT IN THE HAT to your kids or a group of kids, but if you do that and charge admission without the permission of the Dr. Seuss’ estate or publisher, it is illegal. It is also illegal to sell a copy of your reading if you do so without permission.
However, in Section 110 of the copyright law, non-profit, educational institutions, under certain conditions, can perform or display works in the classroom.
Advocacy, Copyright resources, Digital Rights Management, Fair use
