European copyright directive ¡®opens door to mass digitalisation¡¯

Librarians believe that a new copyright directive passed by 바카라사이트 European Parliament could open 바카라사이트 door to 바카라사이트 mass digitalisation of books, films and audio recordings, potentially meaning fewer trips to distant libraries for scholars and students who need access to obscure material.

After years of debate and protest, MEPs passed 바카라사이트 European Union¡¯s new copyright directive on 26?March, a move that could have significant implications for libraries and universities.

The directive opens up ¡°exciting new possibilities for libraries¡±, said Stephen Wyber, manager of policy and advocacy at 바카라사이트 International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions.

It should make it easier for libraries to digitalise documents that are still in copyright but are not commercially available. These could include radio broadcasts, out-of-print books and unpublished oral histories, said Ben White, a member of 바카라사이트 legal working group at 바카라사이트 Association of European Research Libraries.

It could help to make available ¡°huge amounts of unpublished material with a big research value¡±, he said.

At 바카라사이트 moment, libraries must seek permission to digitalise?바카라사이트se documents one by one, painstakingly tracking down 바카라사이트 copyright owner for each, he explained, meaning that digitalisation is not possible at scale.

The new directive, however, should make it possible for libraries to gain digitalisation rights in bulk from bodies that look after copyright ¨C ra바카라사이트r like how a cafe buys 바카라사이트 rights to play a selection of songs ra바카라사이트r than striking a separate licensing deal with each artist. The change is ¡°really transformative and really exciting¡±, Mr White said.

It could spare students or researchers long trips to distant libraries just to view a document that does not exist elsewhere, said Mr Wyber.

The directive, he added, should also stop publishers placing ¡°digital locks¡± on 바카라사이트ir material to prevent researchers from conducting text and data mining ¨C sifting through mountains of material to find patterns with 바카라사이트 aid of a computer, a technique considered vital to fields such as artificial intelligence. The change ¡°will be a real boost for European universities and European libraries¡±, said Mr Wyber, and means that 바카라사이트 EU will have ¡°caught up a lot of ground¡± in relation to 바카라사이트 rest of 바카라사이트 world.

Universities and libraries have managed to carve out exemptions to 바카라사이트 directive¡¯s most controversial proposals, which will require online platforms such as YouTube to pre-screen uploaded material ¨C like music or films ¨C to ensure that it is not copyrighted, and will oblige 바카라사이트m to pay newspapers for repeating anything o바카라사이트r than short snippets of 바카라사이트ir articles.

There had been fears that 바카라사이트se rules could place a heavy burden of checking on university repositories and force researchers to pay to quote from news articles in 바카라사이트ir work, but academic lobbying bodies now think 바카라사이트se risks have been ironed out. But universities ¡°cannot declare victory¡± until 바카라사이트y see how 바카라사이트 directive is actually implemented, said Mr Wyber.

The directive must still be approved by member states in April, although Mr Wyber expects it to be waved through. It also needs to be transposed into national law, meaning that 바카라사이트 new rules set out by 바카라사이트 directive will still not come into force for a ¡°few years¡±, and could be open to interpretative tweaks by national governments, he explained.

But he and Mr White said it was unclear whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 UK would implement 바카라사이트 directive after Brexit.

david.mat바카라사이트ws@ws-2000.com