'Digital is not different' say 93% of UK researchers
08 April 2008
- Results of a British Library Intellectual Property survey published today
Access to online research material should be the same as for books - say 93% of respondents to a British Library survey on researchers' attitudes and needs in the digital age. An overwhelming majority of the survey participants agreed that, in the age of the internet, anyone involved in non-commercial research should be allowed to copy parts of electronically published works such as online articles, news broadcasts, film or sound recordings. The British Library conducted the research because the balance in copyright is being undermined in the digital era.
87% of respondents stated they should be able to use exceptions and fair dealing in the digital age. Fair dealing is the ‘right' to make a copy from an in-copyright work without permission from, or remuneration to, the rights holder for non-commercial research, private study, criticism, review and news reporting. For example, most individual copying by researchers at university for academic purposes is done under the fair dealing provision in UK law. 68% of the survey respondents are opposed to having different fair dealing laws for material in paper or electronic format. The British Library will be putting these points, on behalf of researchers, to the UK Intellectual Property Office in the current consultation on copyright exceptions.
Dame Lynne Brindley DBE, Chief Executive of the British Library, said: “Striking the right balance on IP in the digital age is essential to support an innovative knowledge economy. Let's not wake up in five years' time and realise we have unwittingly lost a fundamental building block for innovation, research and heritage in the UK.”
The British Library's position in the IP debate has been guided by five principles:
1. Public Interest
Public interest policy formation must consider the impact on the creator, the citizen, the economy, the education system and our culture – for today, and for future generations to come.
2. Balance
Creativity, innovation and a democratic civil society requires copyright law to strike a balance between the private interest of the creator being recognised and remunerated for their work, and the interest of the citizen in ensuring access to information and ideas.
3. Digital is Not Different
Copyright law should enshrine the principles of creativity, access, recognition and remuneration as it always has done. Exceptions should apply to all formats including digital formats.
4. Law Aligned with Realities
Rationalisation and simplification of the law will lead to understanding and respect for copyright.
5. Technology Neutral
Copyright law must be informed by technological advances, but must be kept generic as opposed to specific technologies being enshrined in law.
The British Library will be submitting its response to the UK Intellectual Property Office's consultation on copyright exceptions on 8 April 2008.
For further information and interviews, please contact: Lawrence Christensen at the British Library Press Office, +44(0)20 7412 7114, lawrence.christensen@bl.uk or Suvi Kankainen, +44(0)20 7412 7105, suvi.kankainen@bl.uk
Notes for Editors
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and one of the world's greatest research libraries. It provides world class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world's largest and most comprehensive research collection. The Library's collection has developed over 250 years and exceeds 150 million separate items representing every age of written civilisation. It includes: books, journals, manuscripts, maps, stamps, music, patents, newspapers and sound recordings in all written and spoken languages. www.bl.uk.
A dedicated British Library Intellectual Property site now exists at www.bl.uk/ip.
The British Library's digital activity encompasses every aspect of collecting, preserving and providing access to the world's digital heritage, but also includes using digitisation technologies to open up the Library's collections to online users throughout the UK and across the world. We do this by
- Capturing born-digital material – through voluntary deposit and other digital acquisitions and by developing a robust, scaleable storage solution through our Digital Object Management (DOM) programme;
- Digitising our collections – working with private partners such as Microsoft on the mass digitisation of out-of-copyright books and with funders such as the JISC to digitise 4,000 hours of Archival Sound Recordings and 1 million pages of historic newspapers;
- Digital preservation – a cross-directorate team works to address the complex preservation and access challenges posed by the diverse and ephemeral nature of digital technology; the Library's leadership of the EU-funded Planets Project aims to tackle the issue at European level;
- Supporting research – through partnerships such as UK PubMed Central, a free and permanent online archive of peer-reviewed research papers in the medical and life sciences.
Based on 320 responses collated between the 1st March and the 31st March 2008.