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Researchers to benefit from proposals announced today in the Digital Economy Bill

The British Library welcomes the commitment to address orphan works legislation announced in today’s Digital Economy Bill.

As one of the UK's leading research institutions, the Library has long argued that educators and researchers will profit from the resolution of issues on orphan works, one of the biggest barriers to mass digitisation and hence important to digital Britain.

CEO of the British Library, Dame Lynne Brindley said: “The Library supports these proposals which confirm the importance of the creative sector to the UK economy. The Library believes that greater access to our increasingly digital collections will allow innovation, education and research to flourish even further within the knowledge economy.”

Dame Lynne continued: “Providing access to Orphan Works, which make up an estimated 40% of the Library’s in-copyright collection material will unlock vital content and enable mass digitisation of our cultural and academic heritage. Journalists, film and television producers, scholars, budding entrepreneurs, students and authors use our collections, generating societal, academic and economic value. Many more will now benefit by the removal of one of the biggest barriers to delivering online access to our rich content.”

Dame Lynne continued: “The Library has also welcomed the policy areas outlined in Copyright for the Digital Age published by the IPO. Conducting a review of the relationship between copyright and contract law strikes a chord with the British Library's own principles on copyright law [see below]. Such initiatives are right for the digital age and will ensure that we keep pace with technological advancements and the needs of today's modern researcher.”

• Orphan Works are a vital stepping stone in the copyright roadmap. Allowing Orphan Works to be used without fear of liability will free up one of the obstacles that the creative industries face on a day-to-day basis.

• The Library would also welcome further exploration of the difference between commercial and non-commercial intent and use. In line with recent statements from the European Commission this will potentially facilitate mass digitisation of historical material that has no commercial value, but of high academic importance that sits in Libraries, Museums and Archives.

• The Library looks forward to the results on the SABIP study on the relationship between copyright and contract law to be published at the end of 2009. A recent review by the British Library showed that 80% of scholarly information will be digital by 2020. Research is built upon clarity of access to and reuse of copyright material – something that contract-by-contract differing access and reuse provisions does not provide. It is imperative that limitations and exceptions that do provide a common base-line for access and reuse cannot be undermined by contract law.

The British Library’s Principles on Copyright Law – The British Library believes that successful public policy formation in copyright should incorporate the following five principles:

1. Public Interest - Many contracts undermine the public interest exceptions in copyright law agreed by Parliament to foster education, learning and creativity. Addressing this issue is crucial so that existing and new exceptions are not over-ridden by contract law.

2. Preserving our cultural heritage – Libraries must be able to make preservation of copies of the material they acquire, including web harvesting of the UK domain.

3. Orphan works – 40% of the British Library’s collections are Orphan Works (where the rightsholder can no longer be found or traced). A legislative solution to Orphan Works would help provide access to the UK’s large historical collections over the Internet.

4. Fair Dealing – Researchers and libraries need to be able to make available ‘fair dealing copies’ of anything in their collections, including sound and film recordings that Fair Dealing does not currently relate to.

5. Technology Neutral – Computer based research techniques, such as scientific research, needs to be allowed by future copyright law, in the same way that in the analogue world research activity is protected through ‘fair dealing’.