Library and Archives Associations Support the National Geographic Society in Case Involving Public Access

[aokerson@pantheon.yale.edu]

___
Date: Wed, 30 Jun 2004 10:41:47 -0400
From: Judith Matz <judith@arl.org>
Reply-To: Activities and Programs of ARL <ARL-ANNOUNCE@arl.org>
Subject: [ARL-ANNOUNCE] Library and Archives Associations Support the 
National Geographic  Society in Case Involving Public Access

Library and Archives Associations Support the National Geographic Society
in New York Court in Support of Public Access

Washington, DC, June 28, 2004--Six library and archives associations today
filed an amicus curiae brief in Faulkner v. National Geographic Society, a
case that has major implications for projects that involve retrospective
digitization of print versions of scholarly materials and the public's
access to those materials.  In the brief, the American Association of Law
Libraries (AALL), American Library Association (ALA), Association of
Research Libraries (ARL), Medical Library Association (MLA), Society of
American Archivists (SAA), and Special Libraries Association (SLA) state
that "the decision will...have profound consequences for the library and
archival communities and those who use collective works."

At stake in the case is whether publishers of collective works and others
who may choose to legitimately digitize them can re-publish those works in
a digital format without seeking permission of authors or other
contributors.  Several freelance photographers, as well as some writers,
sued the National Geographic Society (NGS) for copyright infringement
because some of their works are included in a CD-ROM produced by the NGS.  
The CD-ROM contains photo-scanned images of the entire print version of
the National Geographic magazine from 1888 to 1996 in a searchable format.  
A lower court found that the publication on CD-ROM is permissible under
the Copyright Act.  The library and archives associations are asking the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to affirm that decision.

The associations filed the amicus brief due to their concern that a
reversal of the lower court decision would thwart efforts to digitize
selected library collections, thus reducing access to these important
resources by the public.  The associations support the decision by Judge
Kaplan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
that the Copyright Act permits the NGS to reproduce and distribute,
through the CD-ROM compilation, the copyrighted materials that appeared in
the original issues of the magazine.  Judge Kaplan found that as long as
digital versions place photographs and articles in the same context as the
print original, there is no infringement of copyright.  Thus the District
Court determined that the fact that articles and photographs appear in a
new medium makes no difference to the case.

Faulkner v. National Geographic Society differs considerably from New York
Times v. Tasini, in which the Supreme Court affirmed the copyright
privileges of freelance writers whose works were originally published in
newspapers and periodicals and then licensed by the publishers to
commercial electronic databases.  The associations believe the Copyright
Act permits publishers, libraries, archives, and the public to take
advantage of new technologies to preserve and distribute creative works to
the public if no changes are made to the original work once republished in
a different format.

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The American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) is a nonprofit
educational organization with 5,000 members dedicated to providing
leadership and advocacy in the field of legal information and information
policy.  Contact: Robert Oakley (202-662-9160)

The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit educational
organization of over 64,000 librarians, library trustees, and other
friends of libraries dedicated to improving library services and promoting
the public interest in a free and open information society.  Contact:
Miriam Nisbet (202-628-8410)

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of
123 research libraries in North America.  ARL programs and services
promote equitable access to and effective use of recorded knowledge in
support of teaching, research, scholarship, and community service.  
Contact: Prudence Adler (202-296-2296)

The Medical Library Association (MLA) is a nonprofit, educational
organization of more than 900 institutions and 3,800 individual members in
the health sciences information field.  Contact: Carla Funk (312-419-9094
x 14)

The Society of American Archivists provides services to and represents the
professional interests of more than 3,800 individual archivists and
institutions as they work to identify, preserve, and ensure access to the
nation's historic record.  Contact: Nancy Beaumont (312- 922-0140)

The Special Libraries Association (SLA) is a nonprofit organization for
information professionals and their strategic partners, and serves more
than 12,000 members in the information profession, including corporate,
academic and government information specialists.  Contact: Doug Newcomb
(703-647-4923)

-- 
Judith Matz
Communications Officer
Association of Research Libraries
21 Dupont Circle, NW  #800
Washington, DC  20036-1118
Phone  202-296-2296
Fax  202-872-0884
judith@arl.org
www.arl.org