notebookeleven

For those of us who think the advent of searchable texts is a massive aid to scholarship, the following is of some interest. Perhaps we will eventually find that Google Scholar and perhaps even Print Google can be extended to include all scholarly work and enable anyone who wants to access and search texts of interest. What was that someone said, oh yes, information wants to be free!

Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2006 15:42:13 +0100
From: British Academy

The British Academy says that copyright is hindering scholarship in the humanities and social sciences.

On 18 September, the latest British Academy Review, ‘Copyright and research in the humanities and social sciences’, was launched at an event in the Academy attended by leading representatives from national institutions and the research community. Baroness Onora O’Neill, the President of the British Academy, chaired the launch event and welcomed the report. “From the national point of view,” she said, “it is timely and provides a helpful contribution to the current debate about whether the UK’s intellectual property framework is fit for purpose. The report shows that the copyright system may in important respects be impeding, rather than stimulating, the production of new ideas and new scholarship in the humanities and social sciences.” The intellectual property regime is crucial for the development of, and access to, knowledge. Copyright seeks to protect the rights of authorship while securing the dissemination of knowledge. However, recent developments in technology, legislation and practice have meant that the specific exemptions, which are provided by copyright to enable scholarly work to advance, are not in some cases achieving the intended purpose. The problems lie in narrow interpretation, both by rights holders and by publishers of new works which refer to existing copyright material. These problems are acute in some subjects, particularly music, history and film studies. The report illustrates these problems and contains specific proposals for consideration by government and other bodies. It also recommends ways in which the copyright exemptions (for private study and research and for criticism and review) can be made more effective in securing their intended purposes. The Academy publishes with the report a draft set of guidelines for scholars on their rights and duties under copyright legislation. As Professor Kay, who chaired the Review Working Group, said: “It should not be assumed that more extensive legal protection for intellectual property is always better, or that the public interest in intellectual property can be equated with the economic interests of existing rights holders. Such economic interests need to be balanced against the public interest in the wide dissemination of new ideas, findings and creative activity.” On-line versions of the report and guidelines are available from: www.britac.ac.uk/reports/copyright

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NOTES 1. The Academy’s Review was set up in November 2005 before the establishment of the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property. The Review Working Group took the lead in preparing the Academy’s response to the call for evidence that was issued in February 2006 by the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property, which was established by the government to examine the UK’s in intellectual property framework, and determine whether improvements can be made to it, especially in the context of rapid technological change and globalisation. The Academy’s submission to Gowers is available from www.britac.ac.uk/reports The timetable of the Academy’s Review means that this report has been published before the results of the Gowers Review are known.

2. The speakers at the launch event were: Baroness O’Neill President of the British Academy; Professor John Kay, Chair of the Review Working Group; Professor Hector MacQueen, Director, AHRC Centre for Intellectual Property and Technology Law, University of Edinburgh; Professor Nicholas Cook, Professorial Research Fellow in Music, Royal Holloway; Professor Philip Esler, Chief Executive, Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC); and Toby Bainton,
Society of College, National and University Libraries (SCONUL).

3. On-line versions of the report, together with its accompanying guidelines, are available in HTML and PDF from www.britac.ac.uk/reports/copyright Printed copies are available from Vivienne Hurley: v.hurley@britac.ac.uk /020 7969 5268

4. For further media enquires relating to the Review please contact Michael Reade, External Relations Department: m.reade@britac.ac.uk or telephone 020 7969 5263.

5. The British Academy is the National Academy for the Humanities and Social Sciences. Established by Royal Charter in 1902, the British Academy is an independent learned society promoting the humanities and social sciences. It is composed of Fellows elected in recognition of their distinction as scholars in the humanities and social sciences.

6. Further details about the British Academy may be found at: www.britac.ac.uk