Cearta.ie

Author: Eoin

Dr Eoin O'Dell is a Fellow and Associate Professor of Law at Trinity College Dublin.

#CRC12 Paper: The questions

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#CRC12logosmallAt the end of each of its chapters, the Copyright Review Committee‘s Consultation Paper poses questions based on the analysis in the relevant chapter on which further responses are sought (update: you can download a pdf of the Paper here (via DJEI) or here (from this site)). The questions are presented here by chapter. If you want the questions based on a particular chapter, click on the “questions” link after the chapter name immediately below. If you want the full list, just keep reading this post.

  • Chapter 2 – The Intersection of Innovation and Copyright in the Submissions (questions)
  • Chapter 3 – Copyright Council of Ireland (questions)
  • Chapter 4 – Rights-holders (questions)
  • Chapter 5 – Collecting Societies (questions)
  • Chapter 6 – Intermediaries (questions)
  • Chapter 7 – Users (questions)
  • Chapter 8 – Entrepreneurs (questions)
  • Chapter 9 – Heritage institutions (questions)
  • Chapter 10 – Fair Use (questions)
  • Final questions in the Paper (questions)
  • Additional questions in the online questionnaire (questions)
  • How to make a submission.
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#CRC12 – Three Updates

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#CRC12logosmall As the title of the post says, this post has three updates about the work of the Copyright Review Committee. First, following a large number of requests for an extension of time to reply to the Committee’s Consultation Paper, the Committee has decided to extend the deadline for receipt of submissions to 5.00pm on Thursday 31 May 2012 (update: you can download a pdf of the Paper here (via DJEI) or here (from this site)). Second, the text to three of the questions on the first page of the Committee’s online questionnaire has been updated to confirm that certain information provided by respondents (such as postal address, email address, and website) will not be published.

Daithi O Ceallaigh, via IIEA siteThird, the Committee is delighted that Mr Dáithí O’Ceallaigh, Director General of the Institute of International and European Affairs and Chairman of the Press Council of Ireland, has agreed to chair the public meeting on the Paper. Mr O’Ceallaigh joined the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1973. He went on to assume posts in Moscow, London, Belfast and New York, before serving as Ambassador to Finland and Estonia (1993-1998), Ambassador to the United Kingdom (2001-2007), and Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva (2007-2009), as well as the World Trade Organisation and the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.…

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#CRC12 Paper: Chapter 10 – Fair Use

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#CRC12logosmallChapter 10 of the Copyright Review Committee‘s Consultation Paper addresses the third of the Committee’s four Terms of Reference (update: you can download a pdf of the Paper here (via DJEI) or here (from this site)). That third Term of Reference requires the Committee to

examine the US style ‘fair use’ doctrine to see if it would be appropriate in an Irish/EU context.

The chapter begins with a consideration of the doctrine in jurisdictions which have adopted it – these include not only the United Stated (see section 107 of the Copyright Act, 1976 (17 U.S.C. § 107) but also Israel (see section 19 of the Copyright Act, 2007 (pdf)), Singapore (see section 35 of the Copyright Act, 1987 as amended), and the Philippines (see section 185 of the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines (Republic Act No. 8293) (1997) (pdf)). The chapter also refers to jurisdictions which are considering adopting the doctrine – these include not only the United Kingdom (pp 9 & 44-47)) but also Australia (here and here), Israel India (pdf) and the Netherlands.

This is a very controversial issue which aroused the greatest passions both in the submissions and at the public meeting.…

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#CRC12 Paper: Chapter 9 – heritage institutions

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#CRC12logosmallChapter 9 of the Copyright Review Committee‘s Consultation Paper considers whether the Copyright and Related Rights Act, 2000 (also here) (CRRA) creates barriers to innovation by heritage institutions (update: you can download a pdf of the Paper here (via DJEI) or here (from this site)). As keepers of our cultural heritage from which much innovation can flow, copyright law raises particular issues for heritage institutions such as libraries, archives, galleries, museums, schools, universities and other educational establishments.

Many of the exceptions to copyright in both CRRA and the European Union Copyright Directive relate to educational purposes in general (which are discussed in chapter 7) and to heritage institutions in particular (which we discuss in this chapter). These are important interests in Ireland, given our strong cultural heritage and traditions in art, music and literature. Indeed, one important strand of innovation is likely to be provided by the creative capacity of artists to generate innovative content. In particular, many of the submissions pointed to the important role of libraries and other heritage institutions as repositories of all forms of intellectual heritage – whether print or digital – from which such innovation can flow.…

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#CRC12 Paper: Chapter 8 – Entrepreneurs

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#CRC12logosmallChapter 8 of the Copyright Review Committee‘s Consultation Paper considers whether the Copyright and Related Rights Act, 2000 (also here) creates barriers to innovation by entrepreneurs (update: you can download a pdf of the Paper here (via DJEI) or here (from this site)).

Although the interests of rights-holders are central to copyright law, the law recognises other interests as well, and entrepreneurs feature on both sides of this balance: sometimes as rights-holders, but increasingly as internet start-ups seeking to develop novel methods of engagement with content. A properly balanced copyright system should seek not only to reward initial creativity but also to encourage follow-on innovation. Hence, as with the balance between rights-holders and users in the previous chapter, one of the main questions for the Review is whether the copyright balance between rights-holders and entrepreneurs now requires further amendment, in particular to incentivise innovation.

The chapter begins by considering the contribution which entrepreneurs make to innovation. They are a key source of the innovation identified in chapter 2, and some of the submissions argued that inflexibility in Irish and EU copyright regimes hinder innovation, and that access to and use of legal digital content ought to be made easier and more attractive in Ireland and Europe.…

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Print is Dead; Long Live the Word (Britannica Stops the Presses) by Deven Desai

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EncycBrit1913

Print is Dead. Long Live the Word. Britannica Stops the Presses. Welcome to the Henry Blake cliche festival. CNN Money reports that after 244 years the print edition of Britannica will no longer be offered. As many may recall, one study indicated the Wikipedia was more accurate than Britannica…

But let’s not obsess over print. … Today the print edition is $1395. … Digital divide and access to knowledge discussions can miss that the cost of the set would cover Internet access for 20 months. … Digital also is a dream for the look it up model. … Will folks pay for the online version at $70 per year? I would guess not.

So go with God, Britannica. Thank you for the years of service and enhancing my childhood. And congratulations on your new form. Like those in Good To Great, you have ditched the old method and seek to play in the new space. It is a bet, but it you are in the correct game and that is good.

via madisonian.net and Concurring Opinions
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#CRC12 Paper: Chapter 7 – Users

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#CRC12logosmallChapter 7 of the Copyright Review Committee‘s Consultation Paper considers whether the Copyright and Related Rights Act, 2000 (also here) creates barriers to innovation by users (update: you can download a pdf of the Paper here (via DJEI) or here (from this site)). This is the longest chapter in the Paper, and it raises a great many issues.

Innovation is traditionally presented as a linear top-down process where innovation is the sole preserve of the producer, but it is increasingly an iterative and interactive one in which users play increasingly important roles. This is particularly so online, where technology is making it increasingly easier for users to innovate, and for that innovation to be based upon the transformation of existing content.

Chapter 4 had earlier considered the centrality of rights-holders in copyright law, but the law recognises other interests as well, and seeks to balance the interests of rights-holders in protecting their monopoly against other legitimate interests in diversity. In particular, by protecting only “original” works, by preventing only “substantial” infringements, and by providing a range of exceptions, copyright law accommodates interests other than those of rights-holders, such as those of users.…

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