Preservation and Copyright

Copyright: A Brief Overview:

When someone creates original information they are entitled to protect that information from unauthorized access via a body of intellectual property laws commonly referred to as 'copyright law'. These laws cover a number of different related functions, all of which have some impact on our ability to preserve information by governing who may access what information in what way, and how information may be used, based on the copyright owners wishes (U.S. Copyright Office, 2006).

When it comes to preserving information, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether copyright restrictions are in effect, or if they apply to any given institution. When a work is created it is automatically protected under these laws for a period of 70 years after the death of it's originator, or 95 years from the data of publication, or 120 years from date of creation, whichever is shorter. Recent changes in these laws has now caused the inclusion of materials created before January 1, 1978 to be protected for a period of 70 after the authors death, with the inclusion of the 95/120 year stipulation as above. and in no case would the protection expire prior to December 31, 2002 (U.S. Copyright, 2004).

Further complicating the situation of copyright is the fact that protection may be extended, sometimes automatically for the 95 year limit (U.S. Copyright Office, 2004), and the 1989 Berne Convention Implementation Act, which made the use of obvious copyright restrictions notification by use of some symbols or statement unnecessary for protection, which further complicated the process of verifying copyright status (U.S. Copyright Office, 2008).

Finding copyright related information may at first seem simple, but given that may
works are abandon when the author dies without passing on relevant information to their survivors, or in the case of private enterprise, when the company dissolves the records may be difficult or impossible to access, making verification of copyright status very difficult (U.S. Copyright Office, 2006). Without proper documentation, how are information preservers to determine if it is safe to preserve information?


Orphaned Works:

When a work becomes orphaned - it becomes difficult or impossible to location the copyright holder due to death, loss of verifiable records, dissolution of an organization, or similar circumstances, a piece of information becomes 'orphaned' in regards to it's copyright status (U.S. Copyright Office, 2006). One of the problems with this situation is that Currently, there is new legislation working it's way through the Senate that would allow for a greater level of access to orphaned works which are now more tightly governed and can be problematic to those attempting to preserve them (Lehey-Hatch, 2008). This effort is supported by organizations that work to preserve information that is often orphaned, such as the Internet Archive, who feel that libraries and museums should be able to preserve information "without fear of libility subject to a 'Request for Removal' procedure that would respect the rights of copyright owners who come forward." (Internet Archive, 2008).


What does this really mean in the context of preservation?

When we preserve the original, copyright is basically a non-issue - we have what was originally created and therefore we're in good standing as far as copyright goes. But when we want to copy that original, say for digitization or to have a back up copy in the event of loss or damage to the original, we move into the area of copyright violation. There have been clear trends toward the digitization of information recently, and this has caused some problems in regard to copyright standing because we are now creating a copy of the original, the very act that copyright legislation deals with.

While this issue may seem simple, there are some hidden complications that need to be examined. For example, data storage of electronic information. As previously discussed, data formats change over time and in order to retain the ability to access this information in the future we must continually update the format in which information is stored, resulting in copyright questions. The same issue applies to the preservation of non-electronic information. If we wish to digitize information for preservation or disemination we must copy it, and to do so is to stray once again into the realm of copyright legislation.

When the decision is made to preserve information, consideration must be made as to all of the factors that will be involved in the process, and doing the research needed to verify copyright status and obtain, if possible, permission to preserve information is part of that process. A part that cannot be overlooked if we are to be able to legally preserve information for the long term.


Suggested Further Reading:

Understanding Copyright


Works Cited:

Internet Archive. (2008). Orphaned works reply comments of the Internet Archive. Retrieved June 2, 2008 from http://www.copyright.gov/orphan/comments/reply/OWR0129-InternetArchive.pdf.

Leahy-Hatch, P. (2008). Judiciary Committee Reports
Leahy-Hatch Orphan Works Bill. Retrieved June 2, 2008 from http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200805/051508d.html.

U.S. Copyright Office. (2004). Duration of copyright: provisions of the law dealing with the length of copyright protection. Retrieved June 2, 2008 from http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ15a.html.

U.S. Copyright Office. (2004). Extension of copyright terms. Retrieved June 2, 2008 from http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ15t.html.

U.S. Copyright Office. (2006). Report on orphan works. Retrieved June 2, 2008 from http://www.copyright.gov/orphan/orphan-report-full.pdf.

U.S. Copyright Office. (2006). Copyright office basics. Retrieved June 2, 2008 from http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html.

U.S. Copyright Office. (2006). Renewal of copyright. Retrieved June 2, 2008 from http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ15.pdf

U.S. Copyright Office. (2008). Copyright notice. Retrieved June 2, 2008 from http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ03.pdf.