Digitization and Copyright Law

A universal digital library is within reach
Since 2002, at first in secret and later with great fanfare, Google has been working to create a digital collection of all the world’s books, a library that it hopes will last forever and make knowledge far more universally accessible.

Catalog of Copyright Entries website
This ongoing project presents records of copyright ownership from the United States Copyright Office for the period from July 1891 through December 1977.

Copyright Law and Mass Digitization
A video considering the importance of digitization and the hurdles the U.S. faces based on current laws.

Digitization of Copyright entries Nearly Complete at US Library of Congress
The United States Copyright Office has announced that they are nearing the completion of the digitization of the Catalog of Copyright Entries with online availability through the Internet Archive.

Federal Agencies Digitization Guidelines Initiative
Started in 2007, this is a collaborative effort by federal agencies to define common guidelines, methods, and practices for digitizing historical content.

Keeping Library Digitization Legal
The ability to digitize hard copies, the proliferation of born-digital content, and increased access to online distribution hold the promise of improved access to library materials. Despite these advances, the legal issues surrounding collections increasingly hinder libraries and archives in providing this access.

Microsoft’s Parental Advisory
Microsoft’s advice for parents to help kids avoid online piracy and illegal downloads.

MIT Economist: Here’s How Copyright Laws Impoverish Wikipedia
Using a little-known copyright rule and a trove of baseball-related trivia, an MIT economist figured out how current copyright laws specifically affect one online community.

Schilder Journal of Law, Commerce, and Technology
Digitized Book Search Engines and Copyright Concerns.

TED Video – Rob Reid: The $8 billion iPod
Comic author Rob Reid unveils Copyright Math (TM), a remarkable new field of study based on actual numbers from entertainment industry lawyers and lobbyists.

U.S. Copyright Office – Mass Digitization
The Copyright Office has published a Preliminary Analysis and Discussion Document that addresses the issues raised by the intersection between copyright law and the mass digitization of books.

Wayback Wednesday: Copyright Law for Librarians and Educators
Digitization 101 website info.

WIPO Homepage
Homepage of the World Intellectual Property Organization, an agency of the United Nations.