Libraries to benefit from upcoming copyright reforms

The Australian Libraries' Copyright Committee (ALCC) welcomes the announcement of substantial reforms to copyright law that will benefit libraries and archives. The federal Attorney-General announced on Sunday 14 May 2006 that Australians can expect an overhaul of the current copyright exceptions to better reflect a balance of interests in the Copyright Act.

These reforms, which will respond to the Fair Use and Other Copyright Exceptions Review, are expected to remove undue and unreasonable copyright restrictions affecting the sector, and improve the functionality of libraries and archives by making it easier to preserve and make libraries' collections accessible to the public.

Libraries and archives can expect to benefit from a new 'flexible dealing exception' which will allow a broad range of uses within institutions for non-commercial purposes. Unlike the current 'fair dealing' provisions, which will probably continue, this exception will not be available to the broader public, however it will be available to educational and cultural institutions, and to people with disabilities.

While the reforms on the whole appear to provide a much needed step towards more logical copyright laws, the extent to which they will achieve this goal will be clearer when the draft Bill is circulated. One area for closer review will be the extent to which the amendments will address preservation and public access in State Libraries.

'Australia's libraries look forward to studying the detail of the Bill and to understanding more specifically how it will affect their essential mission of preserving and organising collections and resources for present and future use, ' said Tom Cochrane, the Chair of the ALCC. 'On a more general level, we note the policy emphasis by the government on distinguishing between intentional piracy and acts of individual copying by members of the public. The clarity of this distinction is most welcome. For too long some parts of the copyright industry lobby have sought to advance arguments based on a confusion between fair acts of copying and notions of piracy. '

The ALCC is the main consultative body and policy forum for the discussion of copyright issues affecting Australian libraries and archives. It is a cross-sectoral committee that considers the impact of copyright law reform on Australian libraries and archives and provides advice to the federal government on how to maintain a balance between reasonable access to creative works for copyright users on the one hand and incentives for copyright creators and owners on the other.