ALIA copyright service: the digital agenda
This information sheet has been developed in consultation with the ALIA National Special Libraries Section.
The Digital Agenda Bill 1999
What does it mean for your business?
Background
The Copyright Amendment (Digital Agenda) Bill (the DA Bill) was introduced into Federal Parliament on 2 September 1999. The Bill is co-sponsored by the Attorney-General Daryl Williams and the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Richard Alston.
The DA Bill fills the gaps in copyright protection for digital information. The Bill also implements Australia's obligations under two international copyright treaties.
The definition of library
Under the present Copyright Act there is no definition of library. The Copyright Act allows a library within a for profit business to copy material under the library exceptions. Provided the library itself does not operate to make a profit from its overall activities these exceptions allow, for example, for material to be copied for the research or study purposes of a client or for the library's collection without paying a copyright fee to the copyright owner.
The definition of library in s10(1) of the DA Bill excludes libraries within for profit businesses from relying on the free copying exceptions. This means that if your organisation operates for profit and it has a library, it must gain permission from the relevant copyright owners or their agent before it can make digital or hard copies of copyright material for any purpose.
Increase the costs of doing research
The DA Bill will increase the costs of research and development because your business will, in most circumstances, be required to pay copyright fees to copy material.
As a result of the DA Bill you may now expect to pay for the cost of:
- getting copyright clearance from copyright owners and relevant copyright fees;
- taking out licence agreements to allow your library and business to copy works represented by the Copyright Agency Limited where copyright fees are included in document supply charges;
- the services of a commercial document supplier where copyright fees are included in document supply charges;
- administering copyright clearances and licensing arrangements.
Valuable resource sharing arrangements will be disrupted
You will no longer be able to request documents from valuable collections in publicly funded libraries without permission from the copyright owner or his or her agent.
Responding to urgent requests for information
Consider the impact on the quality of your service, if information cannot be delivered to staff within the time required. Timely service may be hampered by the need to identify, locate and get permission from individual copyright owners or their agent.
What happens next?
The Bill is currently being considered by the House of Representatives Legal and Constitutional Affairs Standing Committee. The Committee's report was tabled in the House of Representatives on 6 December 1999 [see http://www.alia.org.au/advocacy/copyright/digital.agenda/1999.12a.html for a subset of the committee's reccomendations]. The Bill will go back to the House of Representatives for the second reading debate early next year.
Lobbying for change
If your business is concerned about the proposed changes to the Copyright Act, you can write to your local federal member and other federal members of parliament.
If you want more information about the Digital Agenda Bill, please contact ALIA on 02 6215 8226.
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