Tag: 27. Januar 2010

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1542070

This paper examines the legal premises behind claiming copyright in art images and the ability to impose license restrictions on their use.

See here:
http://archiv.twoday.net/stories/5405864

http://www.mfa.org//master/sub.asp?key=23&subkey=6122

http://www.tnr.com/article/the-love-culture

Excerpt:

My wife had just given birth to our third child. On the morning of the child’s third day, doctors were worried about jaundice. By the evening, the child had fallen into a state of severe lethargy. We called the doctor. He wanted a report in two hours. If she did not improve, he wanted her taken to the emergency room. By midnight she had not improved, and so I bundled her into the car seat and raced to nearby Children’s Hospital.

As I sat waiting for the doctor, I began reading an article I had found through Google about jaundice and its dangers. Fortunately, the piece was published by the American Family Physician, which makes its articles available freely on the Internet. And so with an increasing feeling of panic, I read about the condition–hyperbilirubinemia–that the doctor feared our child had developed.

I reached a critical part of the article. It referred to a table. I turned the page to see the table. The table was missing. In its place was a notice: “The rightsholder did not grant rights to reproduce this item in electronic media.” No one had licensed the table for free distribution. Distribution was thus blocked. “Have your lawyer call my lawyer,” the article seemingly urged. “We’ll work something out.”

I sat in that waiting room chair staring in disbelief. It was a relief of sorts, to fear for the future of our culture rather than the future of my daughter. But I was astonished. I could not believe that we were this far down the path to insanity already. And that experience spurs me to ask some urgent questions. (The kid is fine, by the way.) Before we continue any further down this culturally asphyxiating road, can we think about it a little more? Before we release a gaggle of lawyers to police every quotation appearing in any book, can we stop for a moment to consider whether this way of organizing access to culture makes sense? Does this complexity get us something we would not get under the older system? Does this innovation in obsessive control produce any new understanding? Is it really progress?

If the provision of undergraduate (and, presumably, the real money-making Masters) courses is a commercial venture, then materials developed using a CC-NC licence should not be used within those courses without first obtaining a waiver.

http://brains.parslow.net/node/1581

http://cameronneylon.net/blog/why-i-am-disappointed-with-nature-communications

http://www.publicdomainmanifesto.org/node/8

Via
http://digital-scholarship.org/digitalkoans/2010/01/24/the-public-domain-manifesto

Subject: News about the Haitian patrimonial libraries/National Archive

Please share this message with groups that may be interested.

Dear colleagues and friends,

There has been significant confusion as to the state of the four main patrimonial libraries in Port-au-Prince after the earthquake on January 12, 2010. Based on information that I have received from the Digital Library of the Caribbean partner libraries in Haiti, all four of the following library buildings are standing.

* Archives nationales d’Haïti
* Bibliothèque haïtienne des Pères du Saint-Esprit / San Martial
* Bibliothèque haïtienne des Frères de l’Instruction Chrétienne / Saint Louis de Gonzague
* Bibliothèque nationale d’Haïti

Importantly, the library at Saint Louis de Gonzague (FIC) was NOT destroyed. The reporter that stated the library had fallen was incorrect.

According to the director of the National Library, Mme. Francoise Thybulle, the structures must be inspected before the local staff can assess the situation and prepare detailed plans that will certainly ask for international assistance. While the buildings are standing, this does not diminish what will be the very real need for assistance once the local leadership is able to assess the situation. All of the library directors have asked that interested parties work together to help preserve the collections and bring these libraries/archives back into service.

Many institutions and individuals have expressed an interest in supporting the Haitian libraries/archives as they begin to rebuild. The outpouring of support and interest for the preservation of Haitian patrimony is unprecedented. Many of you are already in contact with colleagues regarding ways to help. I am trying to serve as a clearinghouse for the Haitian libraries of the different people, institutions or groups that would like to offer support to the libraries. Once I have feedback from the partner libraries in Haiti, I will share a working document of the projects I am aware of and an online survey for interested individuals to complete via https://www.facebook.com/l/d0a17;www.dloc.com . Feel free to contact me personally at dloc@fiu.edu or preferably via the dLOC Facebook Group if you are already planning a project locally.

The Digital Library of the Caribbean (https://www.facebook.com/l/d0a17;www.dloc.com) has been working with partners in Haiti since it began in 2004. The National Archives in Haiti was a founding member of dLOC, and in the last few years we have developed strong relationships with both the National Library and the Fathers of the Holy Spirit (San Martial) Library. As more information becomes available from the local leadership, I will share it as widely as possible. I have been hesitant to send a large response until now because of the many conflicting reports. This information is confirmed, and comes from the directors of each library/archive.

As the many researchers that have worked in these four libraries know, their directors are completely dedicated to the preservation of their national patrimonial collections. All four have been fighting to preserve these collections for decades, and I am confident with support from the international community these collections will be preserved and accessible for many years to come.

Sincerely,
Brooke

Brooke Wooldridge
Digital Library of the Caribbean
https://www.facebook.com/l/d0a17;www.dloc.com
dloc@fiu.edu
305 348 3008

From archives-L