======================================================
June 1995 LANL Research Library Monthly Newsletter
======================================================
ASK - Anomalous State of Knowledge: An anomaly in one's state of knowledge, or lack of
knowledge, with respect to a problem faced. The start of the information retrieval
process. Call 7-5809 or e-mail ref@lanl.gov to ASK.
======================================================
1. The Atlas of Breeding Birds of Los Alamos
2. Geoscience information available on GeoRef
3. Copyright/Copywrong? Part II--Today and tomorrow
======================================================
1. The Atlas of Breeding Birds of Los Alamos
======================================================
The Atlas of Breeding Birds of Los Alamos County is one of the most frequently requested
publications in the Laboratory's literature. Library patrons often want to know where they
can get their own copy. However, very few paper copies exist and the Library owns only
two.
Through CIC-1, the Communication Arts & Services Group, we were able to locate the electronic files that had been produced several years ago when the book was published. Fortunately the Pagemaker files had been archived and the production person was able to locate them. However, the images of the birds were inadequate. Only very low resolution images had been positioned with the text to indicate to the printer where the illustrations should be positioned. The production person had no knowledge of where the illustrations might be.
A bit of sleuthing was in order to find the original illustrations. They could not be found within the Laboratory. The trail eventually lead to the artist who had created the drawings. She is a Los Alamos resident, but not a Laboratory employee. She did not have the illustrations in her possession; however, she helped us to locate the author of the book, who had retired to Albuquerque. He did have the original illustrations and was happy to loan them.
The Bird Book is a very large file in its entirety, hence it was divided into 13 individual files in order to facilitate faster downloading to local machines for viewing. It is already very popular for persons to access through the Library Home Page and Los Alamos Reports.
Allan MacKinnon, allan@hyperion.lanl.gov
======================================================
2. Geoscience information available on GeoRef
======================================================
Looking for geologic information? GeoRef, the most comprehensive geoscience database in
the world, is now available on LIBNET, the Research Library's internal network. With over
1.8 million references to journal articles, books, maps, conference papers, reports and
theses; GeoRef provides easy access to international geological literature. This new
database is now available at no charge from any Research Library terminal.
GeoRef is produced by the American Geological Institute, a non-profit organization representing more than 20 professional geoscience societies. The database covers diverse fields of interest such as mineralogy, hydrology, environmental geology, geochemistry, paleontology, geochronology, engineering geology, and biogeography, and includes references from 1785 to the present.
The Research Library is offering training in the use of this new database on June 8 and June 27. Both classes start at 1 pm and are scheduled to last 30 minutes. To reserve a place in one of the GeoRef classes, please call the Research Desk at 7-5809 or send an e-mail message to ref@lanl.gov.
Nancy Sprague, nsprague@lanl.gov
======================================================
3. Copyright/Copywrong? Part II--Today and tomorrow
======================================================
The 1976 Copyright Act preempted all prior copyright law in the United States; copyright
protection became federal and the duration of copyright was increased to the life of the
author plus 50 years. More importantly, works that had never been published or registered
were given new protection.
Section II of the Act spells out the scope and defines what works are eligible for protection. These eight categories are broader than those found under earlier law. They include:
1. Literary Works--this includes most printed works but since the phrase does not refer
to format it now includes such items as talking books, CD-ROMs, microforms, electronic
databases and software.
2. Musical Works--including the accompanying words. Rights usually go to the composer, not
to the performing group.
3. Dramatic Works--this includes the accompanying music.
4. Pantomimes & Choreographic Works
5. Pictorial, Graphic & Sculptural Works--this is the largest category and includes
fine art, scientific models and trade goods with a design aspect such as games, dolls and
greeting cards.
6. Motion Picture & other Audiovisual Works
7. Sound Recordings
8. Architectural Works--this category was added in 1990; it protects the building itself,
(blueprints were already protected). The first legal suits have been over tract housing.
Under Section II's definition of the "scope of copyright," some new ideas have now been introduced. Previously, fraudulent and obscene works were excluded, under the new law obscene works are now protected. This determination was made because there is no objective standard for legally determining what is obscene.
Section II also describes the five exclusive rights that are granted to the owner of a copyright: reproduction, distribution, adaptation, performance and display. Reproduction and distribution are the most common rights--authors usually assign these to their publishers who are then responsible for printing and distributing their books. Adaptation rights are usually associated with Hollywood; this is where large sums might change hands when a novel is adapted for a film. Abstracts also fall under this description and are protected under this Section.
Section III covers these concepts: duration, notice, registration and deposit. This is the section of Copyright Law that increased the term of duration to 50 years after the death of the author. If the author is unknown or if the work is a compilation the term is 75 years from the date of publication. This Act changed notice, registration and deposit--these now cease to be a requirement for copyright protection. Now copyright begins at the time a work is "fixed in tangible media" and not at the time of registration. However, registration is still a good idea because it simplifies proving ownership if you need to go to court. Also, you cannot sue someone for infringement unless you have registered your copyright. A part of registration is depositing two copies of your work with the Library of Congress.
The most important aspect of the 1976 Act is the "fair use" exception that is
granted in Section 107. The purpose of the fair use doctrine is to ensure that copyright
does not become an obstacle to education. It is to provide use of copyrighted materials to
people engaged in criticism, news reporting, scholarship and research. In order to
determine fair use, these four factors are used as the test--with the greatest weight on
the fourth factor.
1) The purpose and character of the use; including whether such use is of a commercial
nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes. If the use enhances any of these three
activities: learning, free speech or the advancement of knowledge--then most argue that it
is fair use.
2) The nature of the copyrighted work; courts usually focus on whether the work is
creative or factual. Creative works are usually given more protection.
3) The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work
as a whole. This is where they actually count words in a book or time sections of a film.
If the excerpt is small but still represents the substantial content of the item, then
fair use may have been violated.
4) The effect of the use upon the potential for or the value of the copyrighted work. This
is know as the "market effect;" it is a rapidly changing area so strong legal
cases can be formed based on this aspect of fair use.
Computers and Copyright
Section 117 of the 1976 Act declares that computer programs are literary works, and, as such are copyrightable. This was determined by the work done by CONTU, or the Commission on the New Technological Uses of Copyrighted Works. One of the goals of this Commission was to determine what to do about computer software and electronic databases.
License agreements are another problem that individuals face more and more often. These agreements usually cover what the owner of a copy of software may do with the program. Typical license terms include who is licensed to use the programs, for what machines, what use may be made of the program and for how long. Issues such as payment terms, delivery of the software, warranties and upgrades also are included in a typical license agreement. Increasingly, downloading provisions are covered. A common request is to permit home use, you should contact the publisher to request this use.
Site licenses, network licenses and shrink-wrapped licensing are all also covered in Section 117. One of the reasons companies seek site licenses is to avoid copyright liability for any unauthorized copying of programs by employees; and this is usually the cheapest way to use the software on many machines. The growth of computer networks has had a significant impact on the way computer software is licensed. The current most common license is concurrent use licensing which requires the licensee to pay for a maximum number of users of the program on the network. This has come to be the preferred type of license for networks because it provides the greatest flexibility for the end users and it is often the least expensive type of license since not all employees would ever simultaneously use the program. Shrink-wrapped licensing has been very controversial--you should be able to read the license through the wrapping, but this is often not the case. The two biggest criticisms are that the licensers attempt to impose burdensome or unreasonable requirements and that the contract should be signed by two people with "the authority to commit" your organization to the terms of the agreement. So, what can you do about these agreements? Current opinion is that first you make sure your front line people, the ones using these programs, are aware of what they can legally do. Second, if you have software with an unacceptable license agreement, you can alter the form by marking out terms and inserting new ones. Initial each change, use the phrases "subject to our terms" or "subject to terms noted above," sign and return. This is worth doing because you often get what you want.
Databases often consist of previously copyrighted works now stored digitally. The copyright of the underlying work is not changed by the fact that the format has changed from paper to electronic media. Unlike computer software, which has utilitarian aspects, databases are usually strictly factual. Facts are not copyrightable. Databases are copyrighted as compilations; much like other directories. One of the classic cases is Feist Communications vs. Rural Telephone Co., Inc. in which the Supreme Court held that the white pages do not meet the threshold of creativity required for legal protection. Phone books are usually created by computers now and do not contain: selection, organization, indexing or value added. This suit also struck down the idea that the effort or the "sweat of the brow" does not invest in the work any creativity. Most database licenses forbid downloading for resale--a download must be for personal use only.
The Future
Last summer the Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights of the White House Information Infrastructure Task Force issued a draft report on how copyright law might be changed. A final report was due in May 1995 but has not been released. Supposedly Republican budget cuts have affected Working Group staff and may delay the report. Many believe the report seriously misrepresents publisher interests and there is concern about what the long term effects of the suggested changes might be. The report has been strongly influenced by Bruce Lehman, Assistant Secretary of Commerce. Lehman has interpreted the part of the copyright act that applies to computer software and has extended it to all digital data.
There are three points of concern :
1) Lehman believes that digital transmission of a copy of a copyrighted work is an act of
copyright infringement--this is based on the rule that states that loading a program from
a disk into working memory constitutes making a copy; thus it follows that transferring a
text across the Internet so it can be displayed on another user's screen is also copying
and unless it is licensed by the owner it is copyright infringement. The concept of fair
use may override this interpretation, but the report suggests that as automated licensing
schemes become a reality fair use exemptions will begin to disappear. The Patent Office
view is that if copyright holders do not believe that their property is protected they
will never trust the Internet and that this will stunt the growth of the information
highway.
2) Abolishing the "first sale" rule for works distributed by digital
transmission. This rule currently allow libraries to operate and friends to lend books.
With the current print/book concept transmission does not mean another copy needs to be
made in order to lend one to a friend; but with digital transmission there can be
multiplication of copies instantly to everyone on your electronic mailing list.
3) Making it an infringement of copyright to construct or distribute any device intended
to circumvent copy-protection systems by which owners of the copyright might attempt to
protect their work. This means reverse-engineering is now an illegal way to do business.
These issues are being written about more and more frequently; articles now appear almost daily in the New York Times business section. Most recently these ideas were aired in the April issue of the Communications of the ACM. We all need to be informed about changes in the Copyright Act for they are going to affect each of us; how we send and receive information, how successful the National Information Infrastructure will become and whether the Internet will continue to grow and be viable.
Donna Berg, donna.berg@lanl.gov
===================================================