The British Library’s Chief Executive Lynne Brindley has chaired a significant debate about Intellectual Property in the digital age and called for the IP debate to move beyond music to include society, culture and the economy....
Affirming the British Library’s stance Lynne Brindley told the invited audience: “We believe at the British Library that the debate on intellectual property is too heavily focussed on teenagers, music and the consumer industries. It is important to realise that many areas of our society, culture and economy are affected by IPRs....It seems to me, as CEO of the British Library and therefore representing the researcher in part, that the balance that is referred to here, between private rights and public domain, between free competition and monopoly rights – is not working; it is being undermined by a number of things from our perspective including:
A restrictive use of new technology (Digital Rights Management)
Poor or outmoded legislation (i.e. too complex, increasing durations and harmonising durations ever upward etc)
The public interest aspects of copyright being undermined and made irrelevant by private contract
“I think we at the British Library, echoing the intent of the Adelphi Charter, believe that while market economics are very important, the public interest also needs to be actively protected – this can be done in many different ways but one important, if not the most important way, is through enlightened and well informed legislation balancing the conflicting public and private interests that seek to create and inform our IP regime. There is a need for real innovation in business models and for the legislation to become fit-for-purpose for the digital age.”
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
