Paper - iPRES 2008 - London

The International Study on the Impact of Copyright Law on Digital Preservation reviewed digital preservation activities and the current state of copyright and related laws and their impact on digital preservation in Australia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States. In many cases, digital works are not being preserved in any systematic way, in part because digital preservation triggers copyright concerns in a way that analogue preservation does not. All the countries have some form of preservation exception. However, there is an inconsistent approach in the details and uncertainty as to how they may apply in the digital environment. None of the countries have a uniform national system collecting digital materials. Technological protection measures and private contracts may in some cases present significant practical barriers to preservation.. Current approaches to address these legal barriers are ad hoc and include approaching individual rights holders and some use of model licences. There are as yet no effective solutions to the issue of orphan works. Recommendations of the study include suggestions for drafting national policies and adapting laws with the aim of allowing preservation activities to be undertaken as necessary and in accordance with international best practice standards and to allow a uniform national system for the collection of digital materials by relevant state and national collecting institutions.

iPRES, London

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