Overview
Current Legal Issues in Publishing sheds light on important issues of the ever-changing, often-confusing world of copyright, licensing, and taxation as we move into the twenty-first century. You'll see how the questions of ownership, fair use, and licensing have become exacerbated by the fact that information is no longer static, but rather fluid and transportable. In an age of advancing technology, this book anticipates how Congress and the courts will be called upon with more and more frequency to maintain a balance between the copyright holder’s economic interests and society’s right to have access to information.Reading this book wil give you an understanding of the fundamental aspects and concepts of the Copyright Act--such as what constitutes an original work, for what categories copyright protection is available, and the basic rights of the copyright holder--and how they are being challenged in the digital world. The information and copyright landscape, as you will quickly percieve, becomes even more hazy in the context of the public library and university where special rights to information exist to facilitate learning and scholarship.
Using this book as a tool, you will learn that because the future of the electronic age is unpredictable, copyright holders and university and library communities must work together to remain flexible and recognize the others’interests, particularly in the legislative arena. Comprehensive and informative, Current Legal Issues in Publishing looks at the copyright debate from many different perspectives, including from the creator, user community, and legal angles. Among the important topics you will read about are:
- the Uruguay Round Agreement
- the responsibility of copyright
- university ownership of faculty copyrights
- American Geophysical Union v. Texaco Inc.
- the Newark Morning Ledger Case
- library privileges and fair use
- legal aspects of electronic publishing
- on-line distribution rights
As you read Current Legal Issues in Publishing and are introduced to the origins and development of copyright conventions, the measures taken to combat book piracy, and the conflict between industrial nations and developing ones over copyright issues, you will form your own conclusions to the arguments for and against the current worldwide copyright system. You will also see that questions of ownership and economic and market rights are inextricably linked with questions of power and who can or cannot have access to information.