Re: Converting book into digital format?

[Rick Anderson <Rick_Anderson@uncg.edu>]

Margaret Becker says:

> ... the copyright holder MUST approve anything of 
> this nature.  

I'm not sure that this is true.  As I understand the four-fold test for
fair use, copying the entirety of a copyrighted work is perfectly
acceptable under some circumstances.  If the proposed use would be fair,
there's no need to ask for permission -- in fact, I'd counsel against it;
let's not encourage copyright holders in the belief that they get to
decide what fair use is.

Parenthetically, I'm not surprised that the gentleman who sent the
original message has had trouble getting responses from publishers.  From
my interactions with them, it's pretty clear to me that they're every bit
as unsure what to do about these kinds of situations as we are.

--------
Rick Anderson
Head Acquisitions Librarian
Jackson Library
UNC Greensboro
(336) 334-5281
rick_anderson@uncg.edu

"Which is the greater
miracle: to cause a stone
to speak, or a philosopher
to stop speaking?"
  -- Overheard at the
     Council of Nicaea