[Foundation-l] Fwd: Copyright hindering scholarship in the humanities and social sciences

[David Gerard]

Seen on the openrightsgroup.org.uk list:


13 September 2006
http://www.britac.ac.uk/news/release.asp?Newsid=219

A report from the British Academy, to be launched on 18 September,
expresses fears that the copyright system may in important respects be
impeding, rather than stimulating, the prouction of new ideas and new
scholarship in the humanities and social sciences.

It is in the nature of creative activity and scholarship that original
material builds on what has gone before – 'if I have seen further, it is
because I had stood on the shoulders of giants' – therefore provisions
that are overly protective of the rights of existing ideas may inhibit
the development of new ones.

Existing UK law provides exemption from copyright for fair dealing with
material for purposes of private study and non-commercial research, and
for criticism and review. "There is, however, little clarity about the
precise scope of these exemptions, and an absence of case law" said John
Kay, who is Chair of the Working Group which oversaw the Review.
"Publishers are risk-averse, and themselves defensive of existing
copyrights."

The situation is aggravated by the increasingly aggressive defence of
copyright by commercial rights holders, and the growing role – most of
all in music – of media businesses with no interest in or understanding
of the needs of scholarship. It is also aggravated by the unsatisfactory
EU Database Directive, which is at once vague and wide-ranging, and by
the development of digital rights management systems, which may enable
publishers to use technology to circumvent the exceptions to copyright
which are contained in current legislation.

The Academy publishes with the report a draft set of guidelines for
Fellows and scholars on their rights and duties under copyright
legislation. They include

    * authors and producers of original creative material should
understand that their interests in copyright are not necessarily
identical with those of publishers and should not rely on publishers to
protect them
    * the law should be clarified - statutorily if necessary – to make
clear that the use of copyright material in the normal course of
scholarly research in universities and other public research
institutions is covered by the exemptions from the copyright act.
    * publishers should not be able to use legal or technological
protection through digital rights management systems to circumvent
copyright exemptions
    * the growth of digital databases should be monitored to ensure that
ready access continues to be available for the purposes of scholarship

This report parallels a report from the Royal Society, Keeping science
open: the effects of intellectual property on the conduct of science
(2003), which expresses related worries about the ways in which
intellectual property, its interpretation and its use, impact on the
progress of science.

NOTES TO EDITORS

   1. Please contact Ms V Hurley at v.hurley at britac.ac.uk or call 020
7969 5268 for copies of the report and guidelines.
   2. For briefings and interviews please contact Professor John Kay –
Chair of the Review Working Group that produced the report, preferably
on either Wednesday 13 or Thursday 14 September – johnkay at johnkay.com or
call 020 7224 8797.
   3. For further media enquires relating the Review please contact
Michael Reade, External Relations Department m.reade at britac.ac.uk or
telephone 020 7969 5263.
   4. The Academy's Review was set up in November 2005 before the
establishment of the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property. The Review
Working Group took the lead in preparing the Academy's response to the
call for evidence that was issued in February 2006 by the Gowers Review
of Intellectual Property, which was established by the government to
examine the UK's in intellectual property framework, and determine
whether improvements can be made to it, especially in the context of
rapid technological change and globalisation. The Academy's submission
to Gowers is available from http://www.britac.ac.uk/reports. The
timetable of the Academy's Review means that this report has been
published before the results of the Gowers Review are known.
   5. The British Academy is the National Academy for the Humanities and
Social Sciences. Established by Royal Charter in 1902, the British
Academy is an independent learned society promoting the humanities and
social sciences. It is composed of Fellows elected in recognition of
their distinction as scholars in the humanities and social sciences.
   6. Further details about the British Academy may be found at:
http://www.britac.ac.uk


- d.