Information type and format, and copyright infringement in academic libraries

Abstract

Concerns on copyright infringement in HEIs are not only due to its deprivation of the potential economic earnings to rightsholders, and its role in hindering academic innovativeness and creativity, but mainly it being viewed as a criminal act with perceived violators subjected to lawsuits. However, the copyright protection regimes put in place by HEIs have been excoriated as ‘a one size (extra-large) fits all mode of protection’. There is therefore the need to understand, so as to enable the design of appropriate strategies that will respond to different acts of copyright infringement. Data was generated from 530 postgraduate students and 38 library staff to investigate how information type and/or format influence copyright infringement in academic libraries using the sequential mixed methods approach. Textbooks were the topmost materials whose copyright were ‘infringed’ upon whilst theses and dissertations on the one hand, and lecture notes, and sermons and essays on the other hand, topped the list of materials with the ‘most infringed’ and ‘extremely infringed’ copyright respectively. Digitalized information formats were adjudged as ‘sometimes infringed’ upon. The copyright on print formatted materials (33.6%) was indicated as ‘often infringed’ followed by audio formatted information (28.7%). Video formatted information was ‘always infringed’ upon (29.8%). Among the reasons for infringing the copyright on textbooks were: (i) affordability and (ii) credibility of the information they contain. Reasons for infringing the copyright on print materials included the fact that they afford one the ability to underline portions as well as make notes in them for easy reference.