Copyright and information market today: European initiatives and library privileges

Abstract

Copyright transformation in the digital world is going ahead. The paper describes new European initiatives in copyright regulation, particularly those that exert influence on information market and the work of libraries and other cultural heritage institutions as well as educational establishments. New European directive on copyright officially called The Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market allows for broader use of in-copyright material online and across borders within the European Union for the purpose of education, research and cultural heritage preservation. The Directive simplifies digitization and distribution of out-of-commerce works and gives legal certainty to online use of copies of works of art that are in the public domain. One of the Directive articles gives libraries, archives and museums the right to make digital copies of copyright-protected works in their collections but exclusively for preservation purpose and to the extent necessary for preservation. These important reforms incorporate copyright limitations and exceptions in European legislation and open the way to mass digitization projects in European libraries. The paper also briefly describes LIBER (The Association of European Research Libraries) activities to promote short-term and long-term provisions in international and national copyright legislation to take into account public interests during healthcare, environmental and economic crises.