Re: Hathi Orphans?

[David Prosser <david.prosser@rluk.ac.uk>]

I think that part of the problem and frustration for those who 
wish to digitise is that there appear to be two positions coming 
from the publishing community.

The first is, crudely, 'We have no idea whether we own the 
copyright to all these old titles and there is no financial 
benefit to us in finding out'.

The second is, equally crudely, 'How dare you steal our precious 
property from us.  If we're going to allow this then we need 
compensation'.

Now it may be perfectly legal and moral to hold both views 
simultaneously, but it doesn't help if you're planning a 
mass-digitisation project of 20th century orphan works.  If it is 
too much trouble for publishers to check the status of works then 
let us digitise them (perhaps with suitable take-down policies). 
If these are valuable properties then help use determine who owns 
them so we can exclude them.

David


On 26 Oct 2011, at 01:10, Joseph Esposito wrote:

> Ontological foundation of the universe?  This is very witty, but
> perhaps another explanation (more in keeping with Newtonian
> physics than Einstein's) is simply that these books have gone out
> of print because there was no demand for them and it is a source
> of consternation to many that they are being asked to put their
> attention into things of little or no interest when they have
> many more compelling projects before them.
>
> As for the metaphor of war, I like it.  It makes me feel
> important.
>
> Joe Esposito
>
> On Mon, Oct 24, 2011 at 3:18 PM,
> <jean.claude.guedon@umontreal.ca> wrote:
>
>> Then, I guess, there is no hope but to prepare for war. When I
>> contemplate such a great spirit of compromise, such a wonderful
>> sensitivity for the common good hovering over publishers, even
>> university presses, then I can only expect bloody battles, lots
>> of sound and fury, and multiple displays of collective human
>> stupidity. The publisher's role, I thought,could claim some
>> degree of importance in some circumstances,, but I had not quite
>> understood that it was an ontological foundation of the universe.
>> If so, it must bear some relation to dark matter and black
>> forces...
>>
>> Jean-Claude Guedon
>>
>>
>> -------- Message d'origine--------
>> De: owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu de la part de Sandy Thatcher
>> Date: mer. 19/10/2011 18:37
>> Objet : Re: Hathi Orphans?
>>
>> Asking publishers to research old files is asking them to do
>> something for which there is no likely economic benefit.
>> Publishers are not charitable organizations; they do what they do
>> in order to make profits (if they are commercial) or to fulfill
>> their missions (if they are non-profit). Doing the kind of
>> research you are calling for is no simple, easy, or inexpensive
>> task--as those staff can tell you who began investigating digital
>> rights for titles they wanted to include under the Google
>> Settlement. With that incentive now gone (it would appear), what
>> is to motivate publishers to devote time to this task? They would
>> not, i can assure you, look favorably upon a proposal to have
>> government agents rummaging through their files either!
>>
>> Sandy Thatcher