Australia just struck down an ISP lawsuit that was backed by the MPAA, which demonstrates the critical importance of the anglosaxon tradition. In direct contrast to the legal tradition that has governed US copyright (and so beneficial to libraries), are recent statements by Maria Pallante, recent US registrar of Copyright:
Copyright is for the author first and the nation second (must have log in or access through database)
This statement is about as inaccurate as it can possibly be, and exploded across the blogosphere when it was discovered. This is the French or continental understanding of copyright, but not ours. The US tradition would reverse the order: nation first, author second. I hope all librarians become aware of the powerful forces Hollywood (and others) is deploying against us. They do not want First Sale to survive. And we have few resources other than our legal history, which could be cut out from under us in the next 10 years. For more on this watch this interview by representative Lofgren with Maria. Lofgren and Issa both show an openness to our side of the issue, which is great, as we will need bipartisan support:
Copyright is for the author first and the nation second (must have log in or access through database)
This statement is about as inaccurate as it can possibly be, and exploded across the blogosphere when it was discovered. This is the French or continental understanding of copyright, but not ours. The US tradition would reverse the order: nation first, author second. I hope all librarians become aware of the powerful forces Hollywood (and others) is deploying against us. They do not want First Sale to survive. And we have few resources other than our legal history, which could be cut out from under us in the next 10 years. For more on this watch this interview by representative Lofgren with Maria. Lofgren and Issa both show an openness to our side of the issue, which is great, as we will need bipartisan support:
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