[Ecommerce] BRITISH LIBRARY FEARS EFFECTS OF DRM

[Manon Ress]

BRITISH LIBRARY FEARS EFFECTS OF DRM
The British Library has expressed concern over the impact of DRM,
noting that the technologies may block legitimate uses. The comments
came at UK parliamentary hearing where several groups expressed
concern about DRM.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4675280.stm

Libraries fear digital lockdown
By Ian Youngs
BBC News

*Libraries have warned that the rise of digital publishing may make
it harder or even impossible to access items in their collections in
the future. *

Many publishers put restrictions on how digital books and journals
can be used.

Such digital rights management (DRM) controls may block some
legitimate uses, the British Library has said.

And there are fears that restricted works may not be safe for future
generations if people can no longer unlock them when technology evolves.

The British Library spends =A32m of its =A316m annual acquisitions budget
on digital material, mainly reference books and journals.


=09* This is going to be one of the significant challenges for us over
the next few years *
Dr Clive Field
British Library

But by 2020, 90% of newly published work will be available digitally
- twice the amount that is printed - according to British Library
predictions published last year.

Libraries are allowed to give access to, copy and distribute items
through "fair dealing" and "library privilege" clauses in copyright law.

But as publishers attempt to stop the public illegally sharing books
and articles, the DRM they employ may not cater for libraries' legal
uses.

"We have genuinely tried to maintain that balance between the public
interest and respecting rights holders," Dr Clive Field, the British
Library's director of scholarships and collections told the BBC News
website.

"We are genuinely concerned that technology inadvertently may be
disturbing that balance, and that would be unhelpful ultimately to
the national interest."


=09* We have grave concerns about the potential use of DRMs by
rightholders to override existing copyright exceptions *
Libraries and Archives Copyright Alliance

The All Party Parliamentary Internet Group is conducting an inquiry
into DRM.

In written evidence, the Libraries and Archives Copyright Alliance
(Laca) said there were "widespread concerns in the library, archive
and information community" about the potentially harmful effects of
DRMs.

"We have grave concerns about the potential use of DRMs by
rightholders to override existing copyright exceptions," its
statement said.

In the long term, the restrictions would not expire when a work went
out of copyright, it said, and it may be impossible to trace the
rights holders by that time.

"It is probable that no key would still exist to unlock the DRMs,"
Laca said. "For libraries this is serious.

* 'Threaten' *

"As custodians of human memory, a number would keep digital works in
perpetuity and may need to be able to transfer them to other formats
in order to preserve them and make the content fully accessible and
usable once out of copyright."

In its written submission to the group, the British Library said DRM
must not "exert excessive control on access to information".

"This will fundamentally threaten the longstanding and accepted
concepts of fair dealing and library privilege and undermine, or even
prevent, legitimate public good access."

Fair dealing and library privilege must be "re-interpreted and
sustained for the digital age", it added.

Dr Field said: "This is going to be one of the significant challenges
for us over the next few years."


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

Consumer Project on Technology
1621 Connecticut Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20009 USA
Tel.:  +1.202.332.2670, Ext 16 Fax: +1.202.332.2673

Consumer Project on Technology
1 Route des  Morillons, CP 2100, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 791 6727

Consumer Project on Technology
24 Highbury Crescent, London, N5 1RX, UK
Tel: +44(0)207 226 6663 ex 252 Fax: +44(0)207 354 0607