[A2k] British Academy report on copyright

[Manon Ress]

This report from the British Academy parallels a report from the
Royal Society, Keeping science open: the effects of intellectual
property on the conduct of science (2003)

Copyright hindering scholarship in the humanities and social sciences
http://www.britac.ac.uk/news/release.asp?Newsid=3D219

Date: 18 September 2006

A report from the British Academy, launched on 18 September,
expresses fears that the copyright system may in important respects
be impeding, rather than stimulating, the production of new ideas and
new scholarship in the humanities and social sciences.

It is in the nature of creative activity and scholarship that
original material builds on what has gone before =96 =91if I have seen
further, it is because I had stood on the shoulders of giants=92 =96
therefore provisions that are overly protective of the rights of
existing ideas may inhibit the development of new ones.

Existing UK law provides exemption from copyright for fair dealing
with material for purposes of private study and non-commercial
research, and for criticism and review. =93There is, however, little
clarity about the precise scope of these exemptions, and an absence
of case law=94 said John Kay, who is Chair of the Working Group which
oversaw the Review. =93Publishers are risk-averse, and themselves
defensive of existing copyrights.=94

The situation is aggravated by the increasingly aggressive defence of
copyright by commercial rights holders, and the growing role =96 most
of all in music =96 of media businesses with no interest in or
understanding of the needs of scholarship. It is also aggravated by
the unsatisfactory EU Database Directive, which is at once vague and
wide-ranging, and by the development of digital rights management
systems, which may enable publishers to use technology to circumvent
the exceptions to copyright which are contained in current legislation.

The Academy publishes with the report a draft set of guidelines for
Fellows and scholars on their rights and duties under copyright
legislation. They include

authors and producers of original creative material should understand
that their interests in copyright are not necessarily identical with
those of publishers and should not rely on publishers to protect them
the law should be clarified - statutorily if necessary =96 to make
clear that the use of copyright material in the normal course of
scholarly research in universities and other public research
institutions is covered by the exemptions from the copyright act.
publishers should not be able to use legal or technological
protection through digital rights management systems to circumvent
copyright exemptions
the growth of digital databases should be monitored to ensure that
ready access continues to be available for the purposes of scholarship
This report parallels a report from the Royal Society, Keeping
science open: the effects of intellectual property on the conduct of
science (2003), which expresses related worries about the ways in
which intellectual property, its interpretation and its use, impact
on the progress of science.

NOTES TO EDITORS


Please contact Ms V Hurley at v.hurley@britac.ac.uk or call 020 7969
5268 for copies of the report and guidelines.
For briefings and interviews please contact Professor John Kay =96
Chair of the Review Working Group that produced the report,
preferably on either Wednesday 13 or Thursday 14 September =96
johnkay@johnkay.com or call 020 7224 8797.
For further media enquires relating the Review please contact Michael
Reade, External Relations Department m.reade@britac.ac.uk or
telephone 020 7969 5263.
The Academy=92s Review was set up in November 2005 before the
establishment of the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property. The
Review Working Group took the lead in preparing the Academy=92s
response to the call for evidence that was issued in February 2006 by
the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property, which was established by
the government to examine the UK=92s in intellectual property
framework, and determine whether improvements can be made to it,
especially in the context of rapid technological change and
globalisation. The Academy=92s submission to Gowers is available from
http://www.britac.ac.uk/reports. The timetable of the Academy=92s
Review means that this report has been published before the results
of the Gowers Review are known.
The British Academy is the National Academy for the Humanities and
Social Sciences. Established by Royal Charter in 1902, the British
Academy is an independent learned society promoting the humanities
and social sciences. It is composed of Fellows elected in recognition
of their distinction as scholars in the humanities and social sciences.
Further details about the British Academy may be found at: http://
www.britac.ac.uk

************************************************
Manon Anne Ress
manon.ress@cptech.org,
www.cptech.org

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