RROs and the user community

Dynamic society Knowledge economy National IP industry Flourishing environment Unique cultural material Educational material World place It is generally accepted that, in order to participate fully in the growing knowledge economy, a society needs its own vigorous IP industry. This can be achieved only through stimulation of the economic conditions necessary for the creative sector to flourish. Users and consumers wish to enjoy cultural material that is unique to their own national character and experience. These materials are the natural product of the creative industries which, as we have seen, may also make a significant economic contribution. Teachers and learners in the education system may rely upon works which reflect national culture, identity, experience and forms of expression. Textbooks and other resource materials need to be developed which meet their specific need, in areas ranging from cultural projects in schools, to high level pedagogic and reference materials on subjects such as agriculture, conservation and health care. Depending on their level and nature, these works may find a place in world markets, thereby both projecting the national image as a centre for learning and research, and also contributing to the national economy.

Users in the © sphere Education Businesses Research Professions Libraries Churches Individuals Charitable bodies Government Copy shops Industry Press cutting agencies... It is difficult to imagine a sector which is not licensed by RROs. Each may have distinctive requests. For example: Schools to display © materials on whiteboards and in large print Universities to place materials on intranets in virtual learning environments (VLEs) Research-based industries to distribute scientific papers internally and externally Libraries to distribute papers to clients operating commercially Private individuals to copy for personal use.

Users’ wishes Access to © materials Transparency and affordability Formats, uses, repertoires Transparency and affordability Flexibility One-stop-shop Legal certainty Statutory Or indemnity Dialogue in many countries over a long period time has identified certain wishes which users have in common. Users commonly request access to © works in a range of formats, for a range of uses, for a range of works not limited to their national repertoire. The terms and conditions of the licences should be fair and transparent, and prices should be affordable according to sector and national circumstances. There should be flexibility as to time and place of access, and a one-stop-shop through which certain types of permissions could be sought and clearances granted on a mass-use basis. There should be assurance that the user will be acting in compliance with national copyright legislation, with the comfort of either a statutory solution, or an RRO-provided indemnity.

Rightholder requirements for collective management Access on an orderly basis Protection of rights, moral and economic Support for business models In a later section we will discuss the more comprehensive requirements of rightholders for the successful functioning of a collective management system through an RRO. The following requirements are paramount: The natural desire of rightholders is to make their works accessible: no rightholder under normal circumstances would prefer their works to be out of public reach. However, they expect the access to be on a basis that is controlled and orderly. Rightholders naturally expect that their rights, both moral and economic, should be respected and upheld by the user community. It is vital that the core business models should not be undermined but should be supported at all times by collective licensing schemes, so that creators and publishers may continue to pursue their trade, and to invest in future projects. In helping to make © material accessible in an orderly way, collective management helps to bring together the wishes of users, with the requirements of rightholders.

Dialogue between stakeholders IFRRO Through dialogue between RROs and user representative groups, licences have been developed which cater for these wishes and requirements. Communication between RROs ensures that best practices may be disseminated internationally, and dialogue with rightholder bodies nationally and internationally ensures that rightholders’ requirements are met. IFRRO fosters dialogue both internally between RROs and the rightholder bodies, and externally with bodies such as the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA). Dialogue between stakeholders may help to clarify different perspectives, and to increase focus on the mutual objective of facilitating legal access to © materials. Rightholder bodies RROs User representative bodies

Shared aims Use of information sources Mutual engagement Print and electronic On-site and remote Mutual engagement Fairness and flexibility Balance Such dialogue generally reveals that the aims of rightholders and of users have much in common. The IFLA/UNESCO School Library Manifesto, for example, undertakes to: “support the use of books and other information sources, ranging from fictional to documentary, from print to electronic , both on-site and remote”. This is a goal which RROs and IFRRO recognise and share, and which RRO licences may help to make possible. Experience has shown that engagement and cooperation between the parties leads over time to fair and flexible solutions, which balance the interests of users with the requirements of rightholders. ☼ What bodies exist locally or regionally which could engage in such dialogue? Are there structures within which their communication could be framed? Would external facilitation be helpful? Who would organise?

RRO initiatives VIPs – Australia, CAL Internet users – Norway, Kopinor Statutory licence to format-shift Masters’ Catalogue of accessible versions Internet users – Norway, Kopinor ECL with National Library of Norway Thousands of digital books available Information professionals – USA, CCC Proprietary – knowledge sharing and © compliance Assign, maintain and organise rights Users and RROs have cooperated in developing innovative practices of mutual benefit. For example: In Australia, the CAL administers a statutory licence under which authorised institutions are granted permission to make available in accessible formats commercially non-available works. To minimise conversion costs, CAL operates a database on which institutions record their format-shift versions, which may then be requested by others. CAL is working with print disabled bodies to enhance this database, and provide direct access to content. In Norway, Kopinor has an agreement with the National Library of Norway for a pilot programme for digital books on the internet. All books from the 1790s, 1890s and 1990s, totalling over 50,000, many of them in ©, are to be made available to view on the Library’s website. The project is named Bookshelf (bokhylla.no) and is accessible to Norwegian IP addresses only. In the USA, alongside its © licensing schemes CCC operates a proprietary scheme for rights management for corporate librarians and users. Aimed at bridging the gap between © compliance and knowledge sharing, Rightsphere® enables information professionals to assign, maintain and organize rights by countries, sites and other organization-defined attributes.

Publisher-led initiatives Standards ACAP DOI Pricing and access models HINARI, AGORA, OARE Among the publisher-led initiatives are ACAP (Automated Content Access Protocol) facilitating search and discovery of web-based content, and the DOI (Digital Object Identifier), now widely used for persistently identifying and locating in the main learned journal articles. HINARI, AGORA and OARE provide access to thousands of peer-international scientific journals online. Access is free to the researcher, and the resources are available in several languages. Users can search by keyword, subject, author or language. Full-text articles can be downloaded for saving, printing, or reading on-screen.

Some IFRRO initiatives Orphan & OP works Visually impaired Standards & formats Traditional knowledge Least developed countries Book culture IFRRO’s role in fostering dialogue leads to its involvement in a range of stakeholder-focused mutually beneficial initiatives, including: Support for an orphan works solution that should be applicable to all kinds of protected works. lead partner in ARROW (Accessible Registry of Rights Information and Orphan Works) – an EC project aiming to clarify the rights status of orphan and OP works. range of tools to help RROs in assisting authors and publishers to provide legal access to their works by people with print disabilities (available to IFRRO members only). development of common standards and formats, including involvement in the International Standard Text Code (ISTC), the International Standard Name Identifier (ISNI), and applications of the ONIX format. supportive positions on Traditional Knowledge, and on accessibility for Least Developed Countries, and with WIPO, a Strategic Partnership to Enhance a Book Culture in key countries.

Q: Who isn’t licensed? The British Houses of Parliament? © Photography by Deryc Sands. Parliamentary copyright images are reproduced with the permission of Parliament The Church of Norway? The National University of Singapore? Among user bodies, is it possible that any of these three might not be licensed – and if so, which might it be?

A: Trick question! Naturally, all three of these ©-compliant user bodies are licensed! The Houses of Parliament in the UK are licensed by CLA The Church of Norway is licensed by Kopinor The National University of Singapore is licensed by CLASS Naturally, all three of these prestigious bodies are fully compliant, and each has a © licence from its national RRO: The Houses of Parliament from the Copyright Licensing Agency in the UK; the Church of Norway from Kopinor; and the NUS is licensed by the Copyright Licensing & Administration Society of Singapore.