Subject: Re: EU copyright exceptions
From: SCONUL (sconul@mailbox.ulcc.ac.uk)
Date: ma 24 huhti 2000 - 09:49:29 EEST
Annika - 'In the public domain' in English means material that has
been published with the intention that it be made widely available,
copied freely, etc. (usually excluding republication for profit).
Examples are usually the proceedings of parliaments
and their laws.
'Fair use' is more difficult because it is a US term, slightly
different in meaning from the UK term 'fair dealing', and neither
expression has been defined in law, so far as I know, even though the
terms form part of the countries' copyright law. In essence 'fair
use' is a defence against prosecution for copyright infringement,
available to educational orgainsations and private researchers. If
they copy something without permission, they may be able to argue
that they are exempt from prosecution because the copy was made for
fair use for education or research purposes. It seems to be accepted
in the USA that copying a small proportion of a work for educational
purposes by an educational institution is 'fair use'. The
definition of 'fair use' is the subject of quite a bit of argument,
especially with regard to electronic publications. - Toby
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Toby Bainton SCONUL 102 Euston Street London NW1 2HA England
Tel 0171-387 0317 (international +44-171-387-0317)
Fax 0171-383 3197 (international +44-171-383-3197)
This archive was generated by hypermail 2a24 : ti 23 huhti 2024 - 01:20:13 EEST