Home › Posts tagged intellectual property

intellectual property

The (Copy)Right Stuff – a not-so-brief overview of our copyright training day

Posted on by — No Comments ↓

Outside our organised training programme, we graduate trainees also have access to the wide variety of staff development courses on offer. At the beginning of November, a few of us opted to go on a training session on Copyright law and issues. This full day of training was a great insight into the complexities of copyright law, covering what copyright is, the legislation surrounding it and various licenses that cover copyright. We (Rhiannon P and Rhiannon H) were tasked with writing this blog post, and we decided to not only give an overview of what we learnt, but how we are using the training in our day-to-day work at the Bodleian Law Library and the Old Bodleian, respectively.

The first thing that was made clear to us was that copyright is an incredibly multifaceted and complicated subject, especially in the context of academia. This was not an exaggeration as this full day of training felt as if it was only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what you can and cannot do according to copyright law. However, I did feel that when I applied the training to the work I do in the Law Bod, which is mostly scanning and uploading chapters or articles online to Weblearn or ORLO for students, it was a perfectly reasonable introduction.

Copyright is one of five Intellectual Property Rights, with the other four being patents, trademarks, designs and confidence, and is governed as such. Most intellectual property has some copyright belonging to someone, but depending on the context depends on who owns the copyright and how long the work stays in copyright for. For example, copyright does not cover facts or ideas, only what has been expressed in a material form. One piece of material may contain more than one copyright. For example, a piece of music may have one copyright attached to the music itself, and one attached to the lyrics, and these could belong to two separate people. On the topic of ownership: although this is the case more often than not, the author of the work may not always own the copyright. For example, if the author produced the work in their capacity as an employee, then their employer is the first owner of the copyright for that piece of work.

The training also introduced us to a subsection of UK copyright called Crown Copyright that has different requirements for the ownership, transference and the duration of copyright. The legislation summarises Crown Copyright as ‘where a work is made by Her Majesty or by an officer or servant of the Crown in the course of his duties’ (Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 Chapter X ss 163). Luckily for us, we were provided on the training course with two handy charts depicting every possible outcome regarding the duration of copyright for both Crown and non-Crown copyrighted materials.

One of the main questions to ask when using copyrighted material is this: is the use you’ve made of the material be construed as fair to the copyright holder? Usually, using a substantial part of someone else’s work to make money or otherwise profit is considered unfair. However, when it comes to non-commercial usage, there are various exceptions and exemptions to the vast and complex system of rules. These come under the heading of ‘fair dealing’.

The most important of these fair dealing exceptions in an academic library context is the educational usage exemption. This is separate from a CLA (Copyright Licensing Agency) licence, and does not require reporting to an authority. It allows students to copy ‘a reasonable proportion’ of a text for educational purposes. This is usually interpreted to mean up to 5% of a text, or else one chapter or article, whichever is greater. Things get tricky with some items (and resources like databases), since 5% of a five page pamphlet or a single photograph probably can’t be considered ‘a reasonable proportion’ – but how much should be allowed, in that case?

Judging this can be difficult, but this course thankfully did provide some clarity on an issue that we have been dealing with at the Old Bodleian Library quite often: copying material from online databases. Databases have their own right which lasts for fifteen years, but the course confirmed that material contained within them can still be copied in the usual way using the educational exemption or the CLA licence.

‘A reasonable proportion’ of all the material held within a database is of course potentially a much larger amount of material than would normally be available to be copied, but it is safest to stick to the one chapter or article rule wherever possible! It is also important to remember that databases allow access only to members of the institution, so it may not be appropriate to offer scans to non-members. This information has really helped us on a day-to-day basis at the Old Bodleian, when dealing with requests from University and Library members to provide scans of material from online databases, such as a recent request for copies of letters from The Times digital archive.

 

 

 

 

 

As part of my work at the Law Bod, I often operate under the CLA licence that we hold and it was great to gain a more in depth knowledge of how this works. As a higher education institute, the University of Oxford also holds an HE licence from the Copyright Licencing Agency (or CLA) which alongside the legislation allows us to scan or copy up to 10% or a full chapter or article of any published edition. We also have to keep a record of the scans we make using this licence to show the CLA when they come knocking at our door to make sure we have complied with the licence. I know in the Law Bod we keep a spreadsheet of the scans we make and as far as I am aware, I have not yet forgotten to record a scan!

Ultimately, we all have a responsibility to make sure that we’re abiding by copyright law in our academic libraries, and not just because of potential legal repercussions! It’s especially important because the Bodleian is a Legal Deposit Library, which is entitled to a copy of every book published in the UK and Ireland, in order to preserve books for the future. It’s our job to protect the items in our collections, and that includes respecting the rights of authors and copyright holders, while also making sure that we can serve our readers and help them to get the most from the libraries. This course was a necessarily short, but lucid and practical, introduction to the many issues that arise in academic libraries regarding copyright.

Image 1 reproduced under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 licence original by Gordon from Flickr https://flic.kr/p/2auPHBU 

Image 2 copyright belongs to the CLA https://www.cla.co.uk/

Open Day for New Professionals with SLA Europe, BIALL and CLSIG – Part 1

Posted on by — No Comments ↓

Written and edited by: Micha Cook, Codrington Library; Andi Glover, Bodleian Law
Library; Hannah Hickman, History Faculty Library; Becca Wray, Social Science Library

In April, seven of the Bodleian trainees headed off to CILIP HQ in London for the
SLA Europe, BIALL & CLSIG New Professionals’ Open Day: a chance to hear presentations
by information professionals from several well-known “special libraries”, and to network with the speakers, other trainees and Master’s students. Here, we report back on our
experiences of the day: what we learned, and why the next Open Day might be useful to others considering careers in library and information science.

Photo by WordShore on Flickr
Photo by WordShore on Flickr

NERA Economic Consulting

In the first talk, Hanna Shearring spoke about her role as Associate Information Resources Consultant (IRC) at NERA (@NERA_Economics), which undertakes research on behalf of mostly corporate clients. Her job is similar to a subject librarian’s role with academic
researchers; she works closely with clients and uses specialist knowledge to ascertain
exactly which information they need, and which sources and institutions could provide it. This may entail persisting with enquiries involving several institutions and individuals, such as tenders taken on for the EU: more negotiation than is usually necessary in an HE
library. IRCs are less desk-based than many Graduate Trainees, and, interestingly, work with fewer book-based sources than most of our readers.

For Hanna, her post offers a chance for continual learning, for gaining new skills and knowledge; she also said that socialising with colleagues after work helped to build her network and professional identity. For trainees, chatting with fellow librarians can be a good way of finding opportunities, such as chances to volunteer; and indeed, Hanna left us with the advice to follow our natural curiosity, asking established professionals about their careers and pursuing any intriguing leads. – Micha, Andi

Wellcome Library

Danny Rees’ talk on the Wellcome Library and his role as an outreach librarian touched on and accentuated the diversity of the library’s collections and the active involvement of the Wellcome Trust with the dialogue on access, outreach, and hot topics like the digitisation of manuscripts. Getting excited about cataloguing makes me a rare beast in our group of trainees and it was Danny Rees’ answer to my question about the structure of the
cataloguing department at the Wellcome Library, including specialist librarian and
archivist cataloguers working on specific parts of the collection, which sticks with me.

Photos by Hannah Hickman
Photos by Hannah Hickman

His talk was complemented by the fact that it was followed directly by a fascinating tour. The latter took us to the library and the newly incarnated reading room filled with a bizarre collection of singularly remarkable objects. We were told during the tour that every staff member at the Wellcome library had come to the job with different academic backgrounds and interests and so brought something unique to the greater team. From the fondness with which this reading room/ gallery/social space was described, I like to imagine that the displays included exciting discoveries made by the staff!

The wonderfully unique reading room, with its enlightening medical history exhibits and cosy staircase seating
The wonderfully unique reading room, with its enlightening medical history exhibits and cosy staircase seating

Looked at in unison, the library and this hybrid space confirmed that the Wellcome is not only a multi-faceted institution, but the outcome of a concerted effort to incorporate the pursuit of knowledge, with the preservation and promotion of culturally and historically significant objects relating to the medical sciences. The library, open to anyone who wished to join, felt exactly like an academic research library made more by the beautiful paintings from the Wellcome collection which were unaffectedly exhibited throughout. Small things like the colour-coded finding aids on the shelf-ends, both considered and
decorative, hinted at a careful guardianship and respect for the space and collections on
behalf of both readers and staff.

The leaflet for the library boasts the heading “the free library for the incurably curious” and adorns my wall as a reminder that I have yet to walk up to the reception desk, identity proof in hand, to officially join the ranks of the inquisitive. That said, I expect it’ll stay there; it gave me great delight to see what I hope was an intentional medical pun—the readers are incurable, not terminal, you see! – Micha

Andi, Micha and Duncan with the virtual autopsy table, the popular exhibit revealing layers of the human body
Andi, Micha and Duncan with the virtual autopsy table, the popular exhibit revealing layers of the human body

Extract Information (Intellectual Property)

As trainees, many of us are most familiar with academic librarianship, and perhaps with working in public libraries; so Jane List surprised us with her talk about
Extract Information, the patent research company she founded in 2013. Jane works
primarily as a consultant involved in research to solve her clients’ IP-related problems.
She set up her business after a career in research and development librarianship, and
database-testing for scientific research bodies. She has built up a wealth of experience of
information roles in intellectual property, with one of her areas of expertise being Asian patent information; an area that is fast growing with the advance of technology in the Far East, particularly in Korea. She told us that this has created a demand amongst businesses and legal organisations for translators of Asian languages; so Korean-speaking information
managers could find they have an unexpected skill to offer in the field of IP. – Andi

Photo by Michael Neubert
Photo by Michael Neubert

Careers tips from Suzanne Wheatley and Victoria Sculfor, Recruitment Specialists

Suzanne and Victoria from Sue Hill Recruitment (@SueHillRec) and TFPL (@tfpl_Ltd)
gave some extremely useful advice on careers planning and writing a CV for
recruitment agencies. Highlights included:

• Make the personal profile on your CV reflect what you’re doing at the moment: recruiters want to build up a picture of you to help them find the most suitable opportunities

• Also on your CV, list your achievements, technical experience such as the software you regularly use at work, and professional activity (training, forums, open days you’ve been to)

• Recruiters are very willing to work to your timescale: let them know when you’re looking to start work, and they’ll bear this in mind when finding opportunities for you

• Creating a profile on a site like LinkedIn makes you more accessible to potential
employers

• Find a job you love: you will be more productive at work, and much happier

– Andi

This is the first of a 2-part series of blog posts on this excellent open day. The next
instalment features the BBC Archive, Mishcon de Reya, Morgan Stanley and the LSE Library! Primary editor: Andi Glover

Intellectual Property Rights: I know you’ve been thinking about them!

Posted on by — No Comments ↓

So a couple of weeks ago I ventured into London for a conference on Questioning Rights: Disruptive and emerging (Intellectual Property Rights) IPR management practices in the arts. It was housed in Central St. Martins’ new location in the Granary building behind King’s Cross St. Pancras.

I’d intended to take a photo of it as it was looking gorgeous in the spring sunshine but I accidentally took a picture of the cake counter in the café instead.

Cake counter at Yumchaa in the Granary Building.
Cake counter at Yumchaa in the Granary Building.

As for the conference itself, I wasn’t sure quite what to expect…but what I found was an interesting and engaging conference bringing together academics, professionals and artists to talk about their perspectives on IPR.

While the first two sessions were geared more towards the creators rather than the users of works and weren’t really applicable to me, it was good to hear their preception of how IPR works and how it affects them.

A common thread that emerged was that IPR legislation in its current state is both baffling to the uninitiated and hopelessly behind the times. Most speakers seemed to agree that there needed to be a demystification of IPR and/or a move away from using IPR. Perhaps because legislation is better at addressing actions rather than intent when it comes to IP?

There’s quite a grey area between inspiration and imitation that current IPR doesn’t address and a fear that excessive reliance on legislation will stifle creativity. In their close-knit communities artists rely heavily on self-policing and reputation, but this only works if you are personally invested in the group. Once their IP moves to a wider (and relatively anonymous) audience this framework breaks down.

Design and Artists Copyright Society talked about how they helped people manage their creative legacy and its disposal, but as far as I could tell they did not have any consultants with curatorial or archival experience (or indeed any experience with the heritage sector except as artists), which seems a bit one sided. How do they address the needs of future researchers who might be interested in an artist’s creative process or social context rather than the end product? Is it even on their radar?

It was a shame that the session on ‘Making the Most of Cultural Assets’ was at the end of the day as it ran a bit long and there wasn’t really time left for discussion. I thought it was quite relevant because much of the day dealt with the need for addressing what becomes of a work once it leaves an artist’s sphere of influence and certainly know what people actually want or expect to take away from it (rather than assuming) would help in formulating policy.

My favourite talk of the day was probably Ben White’s from the British Library. It was mainly about copyright and how it affects the heritage sector. He also touched on recent legislation regarding orphaned works and the EU Observatory’s Office of Internal Harmonisation (which he assured us was not as Orwellian as it sounded). He was quite enthusiastic about the way collective licencing works in Scandinavia, France, and especially Germany; it sounds like a model that would really benefit us! So I do hope that that’s the direction licencing goes in in the UK.

For those who don’t know (including me before this talk!) extended collective licencing means that an organisation (e.g. screenwriter’s guild) can extend their mandate to cover non-members and grant licences on their behalf. The problem with this in the UK is that it’s a limited licence subject to renewal after a few years, so an organisation could potentially end up investing significantly in a collection or work only to not have its licence renewed.

A bad deal!

At the end of the day the conference certainly got me ‘questioning rights’ and where IPR will go in the future.