Copyright Issues in a Digital Library Environment

Introduction

Information technology enables the reproduction, saving, and distribution of culture, arts, and sciences as well as the recording of the collective memory of humanity. Not only does information technology make almost all kinds of human creativity available in the internet worked public sphere, but also it enables the creation of new forms of art, creative expression, and distribution of knowledge. More often than not, the rapid pace in the evolution of information technology causes friction with law in as much as regulators’ foresightedness could not have ruled to cope with new social trends, socio-political and economic phenomena in the market. Thus, the evolution of information technology is frequently seen as a factor that sets at stake the legal rights of creators and right-holders, as a cause for stricter intellectual property law and legal protection for the initial and subsequent right holders. The instantaneous reaction towards making the law stricter regarding the availability, use and distribution of creative works via the internet networked public sphere in most cases, a hazard to the evolution of digital libraries and repositories.