8th Interlending and Document Supply International Conference, Canberra Australia 28-31 October 2003
 



International obligations and copyright law: a United States of America perspective

Min Chou and Oliver G. Zhou

Abstract | Paper in [PDF] Portable Document Format (PDF)

Part of a panel discussion on how the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Copyright Treaty has been interpreted in four jurisdictions around the world and the stresses placed on legislators.

This paper briefly reviews the historical development and principles of the Berne Convention, the World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty (WIPO), the Universal Copyright Convention (UCC), and the Copyright Law, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), and the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA) in the United States. Then, it explores the legal paradigm behind the legal trend in digital age and how that affects the operation of library services in general, and the interlibrary loan and document delivery practice in particular, as well as the potential legal liabilities arising in digital environment.

The authors examine a number of critical legal principles such as "Fair Use Doctrine," "First Sale Doctrine," and their inherent problems associated with the emerging Internet technology and electronic content licensing mechanism from both U.S. and international perspectives. Recent copyright cases and some typical clauses of licensing agreement governing the distribution and use of electronic contents will be analyzed to illustrate the impact of the new legal landscape to the interlibrary loan service.

The authors further examine a number of factors in shaping the future of the copyright protection mechanism and how libraries should cope with the potential legal pitfalls for the purposes of insulating the libraries from copyright infringement liabilities. The paper concludes with a number of possible solutions, including favorable license agreements with copyright owners or database providers, and the proactive role libraries should play to defend the library's fundamental value to provide information to users in the world of freedom and democracy.

 

 

 
  National Library of Australia Australian Library and Information Association International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions