Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
copyright agreements began to resolve the situation.
Arguably, since the late 19th century copyright law has evolved to
protect the intellectual property of authors and creators, to cultivate a
vibrant creative arts industry, and to allow for fair dealing on the part
of the buying or reading public. Fair dealing is the 'right' to make a
copy from an in-copyright work without permission from or payment
to the rights holder, if that copy is for non-commercial research or
educational purposes. The only requirement is to acknowledge the
source of the copied work. Most individual copying by researchers at
universities for academic purposes is done under the fair dealing
provisions.
However, the evolution of copyright law took place in an analogue
world and so it has not really adapted to the digital world. This leaves
room either for too much order or, as many would argue in the light of
the recent developments in the music industry, a state of copyright
anarchy.
The digital world provides opportunities never before envisaged for
the sharing, repurposing and reusing of content. Distribution of
content is relatively cheap, and does not require the infrastructure
needed for traditional publishing. This situation has created a great
tension between the publishing industry and the academic sector.
Authors can easily distribute their works; academics can take content
from various sources and create new works that provide innovations in
research or teaching, and of course users can effortlessly share content
with their friends or colleagues. How can we use new technologies to
their maximum potential for informal distribution and creative use and
reuse of content while at the same time preserving the traditional
publishing model?
The question is a complex one, and all types of content and all areas
of the publishing sector are affected. For example, a mash-up combines
data from two or more external sources to create a new dataset. The
new result creates a distinct application that was not the reason for
producing the raw source data. A good example is A Vision of Britain,
a website that provides a unique and comprehensive history of the
country. The website was created by putting together (or mashing up)
maps, photographs, census data, statistical data and travel writing. The
production of such a resource is extremely innovative, but it can also be
a copyright nightmare. All the authors or owners of the original source
