Schofield and Urban (2015)
Contents
Source Details
Schofield and Urban (2015) | |
Title: | Takedown and Today's Academic Digital Library |
Author(s): | Schofield, B.L., Urban, J.M. |
Year: | 2015 |
Citation: | Schofield B. L. and Urban J. M. Takedown and Today's Academic Digital Library (2015) UC Berkeley Public Law Research Paper No. 2694731. |
Link(s): | Definitive , Open Access |
Key Related Studies: | |
Discipline: | |
Linked by: | Erickson and Kretschmer (2018), Ibosiola et al. (2019) |
About the Data | |
Data Description: | The study uses data gathered from 11 surveys and 5 in depth interviews with individuals responsible for actioning takedown notices at academic libraries. |
Data Type: | Primary data |
Secondary Data Sources: | |
Data Collection Methods: | |
Data Analysis Methods: | |
Industry(ies): | |
Country(ies): | |
Cross Country Study?: | No |
Comparative Study?: | No |
Literature review?: | No |
Government or policy study?: | No |
Time Period(s) of Collection: |
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Abstract
"Fuelled by recent public and private efforts to improve access to scholarly works, academic libraries and archives are increasingly digitizing their special collections and creating online repositories for scholarly works. This enhanced online presence has increased libraries’ exposure to takedown requests from rightsholders and other concerned parties. Using survey questions and interviews, we examined academic libraries’ interaction with both Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) and non-DMCA takedown notices. We found that academic libraries most commonly receive non-DMCA takedown requests that are based on non-copyright issues (such as privacy) or that target materials the library itself has placed online. In general, libraries have well- developed norms and practices in place to manage these types of requests to remove material. We also found, however, that formal DMCA notices directed to libraries have historically been rare, but that this may be changing as open access repositories hosted by libraries grow. In tracing the recent experience of academic libraries that have received DMCA takedown notices targeting material in their open access repositories, we found that libraries have not yet developed norms and practices for addressing these requests. We discuss why this might be, and suggest steps libraries, publishers, and authors can take to best manage copyright conflicts while supporting libraries’ missions to preserve and provide access to knowledge."
Main Results of the Study
- The study finds that academic libraries have historically received few formal DMCA takedown requests.
- However, it is suggested that they may receive more DMCA requests due to the increase of their online offerings (as indicated by recent notice-sending activity and the growth of open access policies and repositories).
- The authors note that libraries are more comfortable dealing with non-DMCA takedown requests due to their broad experience handling less formal requests. This experience will be helpful in handling the growth of DMCA notices and takedown process.
Policy Implications as Stated By Author
The authors formulate several recommendations for different stakeholders:
- For libraries: They should continue to educate authors about author-friendly publishing practices. They should also continue to support open access policies. Additionally, they should develop shared norms and best practices for DMCA notice handling.
- For authors: They should make the terms of publication agreements transparent and should retain more control of their work. They should also espouse open access policies.
- For publishers: They should develop transparent notice-sending policies. Also, they should clearly communicate their notice-sending policies to rights enforcement organizations (REOs) when working with them and ensure that REOs comply with the publisher policies.
Coverage of Study
Datasets
Sample size: | 11 |
Level of aggregation: | Individual |
Period of material under study: | Not stated |
Sample size: | 5 |
Level of aggregation: | Individual |
Period of material under study: | Not stated |