Section 108 Reform | Columbia Law School

Section 108 Reform

Copyright Exceptions for Libraries in the Digital Age:
Section 108 Reform

February 8, 2013

Our 2013 Symposium, presented in cooperation with the U.S. Copyright Office, looked at exceptions for libraries and archives in section 108 of the U.S. Copyright Act, and mass digitization by libraries.   What explicit copyright exceptions should libraries have?  How should section 108 be revised?  To what extent should libraries be able to engage in mass digitization of published, in-copyright works in their collections?  How and to whom may digitized materials be made available?  What are the respective roles of section 108, of fair use, and of licensing?

MORNING PROGRAM

9:00     Welcoming Remarks

9:15-10:45    Session 1:  The Legal Landscape

Overview of the legal landscape in the United States and internationally; the U.S. Copyright Office’s plans for moving forward on § 108 reform and other initiatives; the role of fair use; review of the recommendations of the Section 108 Study Group.

Speakers:
Maria Pallante, U.S. Register of Copyrights
Shira Perlmutter, Chief Policy Officer and Director for International Affairs, USPTO
Laura Gasaway, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Law School
Jane Ginsburg, Columbia Law School
Richard Rudick, ret. General Counsel, John Wiley & Sons
  

                   
 
10:45-11:05   Break
Sessions 2-4 will be roundtable discussions, each with 4-5 panelists and a moderator.

11:05-12:35   Session 2:  Section 108 Issues Other Than Mass Digitization

Should the §108 exceptions be limited to libraries and archives or extended to other institutions?  How should eligible “libraries” and “archives” be defined?  Should libraries be allowed to copy, preserve and make available material publicly available on the web?  What changes are necessary with respect to exceptions for preservation and replacement copies in §108(b) and (c)?  What changes are necessary with respect to copies for users and for interlibrary loan in §108(d) and (e)?  What are the ramifications of a library subcontracting to a third party not itself eligible for the §108 exceptions?    
 
Moderator:          
Nancy Weiss, Institute of Museum and Library Services

Panelists:           
Jonathan Band, Jonathan Band PLLC
Mary Minow, Dominican University
Eric Schwartz, Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP
Mark Seeley, Elsevier

                          
12:35-1:45    Lunch

AFTERNOON PROGRAM

1:45-3:15     Session 3: To What Extent Should Libraries be Permitted to Engage in Mass Digitization of Published Works, and for What Purposes? 

For what purposes may libraries mass digitize published works?  Which works should they be able to digitize?  “At risk” works?  Any analog work?  Only certain categories of works?  Should all entities eligible for §108 exceptions be permitted to engage in mass digitization, or just a subset that qualify in some manner?   If for-profit entities are allowed to work with libraries, what, if any, are the restrictions on those entities’ use of the digitized material? 
 
Moderator:    
Karyn Temple Claggett, U.S. Copyright Office

Panelists:       
Paul Aiken, Authors Guild
Eric Harbeson, University of Colorado Music Library
Janice Pilch, Rutgers University Libraries
Gloria Phares, Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP

3:15-3:35     Break
 
3:35-5:05     Session 4: What Should be the Conditions on Libraries Digitizing, Maintaining and Making Available Copyrighted Works?
To whom can/should digitized material be made available and under what circumstances?  What is the role of licensing? What digitized materials should be made available pursuant to exceptions, and what should be made available only under license?  Should distinctions be made among categories of works in providing access?  What is the digitizing entity’s responsibility for security of the content?  For maintaining and preserving it?
 
Moderator:    
Chris Weston, U.S. Copyright Office

Panelists:     
Allan Adler, Association of American Publishers
Ivy Anderson, California Digital Library
Roy Kaufman, Copyright Clearance Center
Kenneth Crews, Columbia University
William Maher, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
 
5:05-5:15        Closing Remarks