Copyright in the digital library

Abstract

The success of information societies depends on publicly available content. In these societies libraries are more and more frequently called upon to care for equal access to citizens in order to implement lifelong learning initiatives. Library services are most influenced by copyright regulations: what kinds of services can they provide to library users, and under what conditions can they allow access to the works under copyright protection? Digitisation is considered as „reproduction” according to copyright terminology, because digitisation is but transforming analogue works into digital ones, by copying as necessary. Library digitisation serves a dual aim: preservation and document provision (availability). As regards preservation, the article analyses the problems of providing electronic legal deposit and web harvesting, while regarding document provision, it discusses the Creative Commons license and the eBooks on Demand (EOD) service. It presents the exceptions in the law no. LXXVI of 1999 relating to libraries providing services for the public, as well as the problems of copyright arising during digitisation, concerning orphan works and out-of-print materials, for example. It also deals with the recent developments of the EU initiative relating to digital libraries, the Green Paper on copyright issued by the European Commission, as well as the responses of IFLA and EBLIDA to the Green Paper in question.