Another Angle Regarding Vendors Holding Libraries Responsible forUser Violations of Intellectual Property Law

["David P. Dillard" <jwne@astro.ocis.temple.edu>]

Until recently, I could not see what all the concern was regarding
libraries assuming full responsibility for copyright infringement by their
clients of the materials the library purchased.  After all, it would not
cost that much to have a full time security guard trained specially in
intellectual property law beside every copy machine in every library for
all hours the library is open.  They could also hire a crack force of home
investigators who would visit library customer homes to make certain that
library materials were not involved in client violation of intellectual
property law in their homes.  Library clients would welcome such
enforcement measures for a cause as noble as the protection of the
intellectual property protections of publishers even if it comes at the
expense of their legal privacy and other rights.

Well I just have come across a message from some time ago on the eBook
Community discussion group which has a public archive that puts even more
holes in this Swiss cheese, despite the fact that this message was not
written for this purpose.  Some of you may have discovered this or figured
it out independently of the message that I am sharing, but for those who
haven't, here goes.

Text can be "photocopied" from a book, periodical, or even a computer
screen with a digital camera, according to this message.  Hence as digital
cameras become more sophisticated, less costly and widely available, and I
believe that they are well on their way in this direction, anyone in any
corner of any library will be able to photographically photocopy with a
digital camera any publications owned by the library physically or
electronically, if the content of this message is correct.  Just think how
many more intellectual property law trained security guards that a library
will need to hire to make sure that nobody perpetrates an intellectual
property crime anywhere in the building.  Clients, of course, could all be
frisked, when entering the building to make certain that they are not
carrying a digital camera, and clients again will be delighted to
cooperate with whatever measures it takes to enforce intellectual property
laws.

-----------------

From:  "Jon Jermey" <jonjermey@o...>
Date:  Sun Dec 2, 2001  1:27 pm
Subject:  Digital cameras as scanners
The eBook Community
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ebook-community/message/10959>

<snip>

Thus to make an electronic copy of the text of a book people will no
longer have to take it to a scanner: they can bring the scanner to it, in
the form of a digital camera (reference works in libraries, for instance).

<snip>

The genie is well and truly out of the bottle for copying texts.

-----------------

The entire message may be read at the URL above.

Please feel free to share this message with vendors who want libraries to
be contractually responsible for all intellectual property violations of
publications purchased from them.  This can be shown to them as you let
them know how fully you agree with the idea and as you are letting the
vendor representative know what a practical solution such a measure is
towards solving intellectual property violations.


Sincerely,
David Dillard
Temple University
(215) 204 - 4584
jwne@astro.temple.edu