Copyright Law in the Digital World: Fair Use,
Education and Libraries after CONFU

A Town Meeting in Portland Oregon
September 27, 1997

Trying Out the Guidelines


Robert A. Baron
Arts Information Consultant

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To the reader: The text presented at the Portland "Town Meeting" begins at Section III.

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I.  Collections and Representations
    A.  Early collections and collectors support
          scholarship.
          1.  The "Paper Museum" of Cassiano dal Pozzo.
              a.  Museum of surrogate images.
              b.  Museums and systematics.
          2.  Early history of surrogate images
              a.  Subject and content
              b.  Audience
          3.  Princely, private and public collections
          4.  Role of reproductive print as a surrogate
              a.  Birth of structured collections
              b.  Collections as resource
              c.  Adam von Bartsch
    B.  Role of photography in creating image resources
          1.  Photography as proxy
          2.  Photography as representation

II.  The Status of Images
    A.  Symbolic dimensions of the controversy
    B.  Monuments of the controversy: guidelines
    C.  Fair Use and guideline restrictions
          1.  Intent of Fair Use legislation
          2.  Rights vs. Privileges
          3.  Guideline restrictions
    D.  The "collection" as a Visual Resource
          1.  Role of the collection
          2.  Sources of the collection
          3.  Meaning of the collection
          4.  Evolution of the collection
          5.  Influence of the collection
    E.  Attacking the collection
          1.  Tradition of scholarly license
          2.  Precedence to "fair use"
          3.  Tradition and "fair use"
    F.  Societal values and research
    G.  Western Visual Culture
          1.  Ancient and Renaissance Tradition
          2.  Modern visual culture
          3.  Role of "fair users" in an owner society
          4.  Squeezing out "fair users"

III. Guidelines past and present
    A.  Guidelines as an industry document
    B.  The "Classroom Guidelines"
          1.  Killing "fair use"
          2.  Restrictions on images
          3.  Danger to teaching
          4.  Unworkability
    C.  Warnings
          1.  Against trying guidelines
          2.  Fear of loss of resources
    D.  CONFU digital image guidelines
          1.  Effect of Guidelines in practice
              a.  Unworkability
              b.  Safe but shallow harbor
              c.  Minimum restrictions turn maximum
              d.  Legal standing; Confused with law
              e.  Guidelines and intimidation
              f.  Kill off fair use
          2.  Working the guidelines
              a.  Clearing rights; no fair use
              b.  Pretext for abandoning collections
              c.  Industry motive
              d.  Unaffordability
              e.  Anti-education
          3.  Stacked rights
              a.  Reproduction Fidelity and rights
              b.  Reproduction and test for originality
          4.  Guidelines as negotiations
              a.  Biased four-factor analysis
              b.  Potential economic impact
              c.  Good-faith efforts to develop product
              d.  Anti-monopoly, restraint of trade,
                    anti-trust
          5.  Opportunity for rights holders
              a.  Preference not to use fair use
              b.  Market waiting to be made
              c.  Resources needed

IV.  Collections
    A.  Statute prohibitions against collection building
          1.  Protection for copyrighted collections
          2.  Collocations
    B.  Collections and fair use
          1.  Distinction between "use" and "reproduction"
          2.  Reproduction infringements among for-profits
          3.  Scholarly collections and "reproduction"
          4.  Right to use owned images in teaching
    C.  Text of collections
          1.  Function of text; provides value to image
          2.  Text and collection collocation
          3.  Text interprets
          4.  Text as intellectual center of collection
          5.  Images and text context
          6.  Text, images and academic freedom
    D.  Collections and copyright issues
        1.  Copyrights of compilation
          2.  Collections as transformative
          3.  Collections as a fair use
    E.  Social, intellectual contribution of collections
          1.  Uniqueness of collections
          2.  Archival value
          3.  Individuality
          4.  Deserving special protection
          5.  Beyond four-factor analysis; benefit to society
          6.  Role in advancing and preserving civilization
          7.  Expanded mission in today's on-line environment

V.  Conclusion
    A.  Fair use benefits rights-holders
    B.  Consequences of loss of fair use
    C.  Fair use and goals of education
    D.  Opportunity knocks


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