« More about Google and Librarians | Main | Disease-Tracking Web Site »

July 17, 2008

Wired Campus--ALA Copyright Advice

July 17, 2008
American Library Association Unveils Slide Rule for Copyright Advice

For those who doubt the complexity of U.S. copyright law take a look at this online slide-rule from the American Library Association’s Office for Information Technology Policy. It’s designed to help librarians and others figure out if a creative work is copyright protected. The exceptions to the law, and the exceptions to the exceptions, are reminiscent of the nerve-wracking U.S. tax code.

For example, say you have a book that was created before 1979 and published before January 1, 2003. Is permission needed to reuse the book? According to the slide-rule, maybe. Generally speaking, the book is copyright protected through 2047. Then again, the protection could last longer.—Andrea L. Foster

Posted by schnitzr at July 17, 2008 06:40 PM

Comments

Here's the link, missing from the text:

http://librarycopyright.net/digitalslider/

Posted by: hktruong at July 17, 2008 09:03 PM

Login to leave a comment. Create a new account.