jan08c.indd


Andy Bridges W a s h i n g t o n  H o t l i n e  

International copyright advocates to 
defend ‘balance’ in world community 
In early December, the ALA’s Offi ce for 
Information Technology Policy (OITP) met 
with three librarians recently appointed to 
become ALA’s first international copyright 
advocates, to represent library interests on 
the world copyright stage. 

The international copyright advocate 
initiative was established this year to 
broaden library representation at interna­
tional copyright meetings, where copyright 
activities have intensifi ed. 

“International forums like the World 
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) 
are dominated by commercial interests and 
historically focused on developing treaties 
that strengthen copyright law in the interests 
of rights holders,” said OITP Copyright Spe­
cialist Carrie Russell. “Commercial interests 
reign over public interest in part because 
they are financially able to send representa­
tives to the international meetings.” 

“Libraries are often the sole defenders 
for ‘balanced’ copyright in these arenas, 
arguing that the law cannot be effective 
without certain limits to the copyright 
monopoly.” 

The three international copyright advo­
cates are: Lori Driscoll, associate university 
librarian and chair, George A. Smathers 
Libraries, University of Florida; Jonathan 
A. Franklin, associate law librarian, Marian 
Gould Gallagher Law Library, University 
of Washington School of Law; and Jan­
ice T. Pilch associate professor of library 
administration, Slavic and East European 
Library, University of Illinois at Urbana­
Champaign. 

“These advocates were picked from a 
strong field of competitors for their profi ­
ciency in the copyright arena,” said Alan 
Inouye, OITP director. 

Andy Bridges is communications director at ALA’s 
Washington Offi  ce, e-mail: abridges@alawash.org 

“They will now accompany other expe­
rienced library negotiators to international 
copyright­related meetings of WIPO and 
the Organisation for Economic Co­opera­
tion and Development (OECD), and de­
velop position statements to advance fair 
and equitable access to information.” 

“In this way, they will become experi­
enced and capable representatives of the 
library community over the long term and 
increase the capacity of the ALA to respond 
in the international arena,” added OITP Ad­
visory Committee Chair Dottie Hiebing. 

The term for each advocate is two years. 
Depending on funding, OITP hopes to 
extend the initiative and broaden participa­
tion in the future. 

New copyright scholars come to 
Washington 
In other copyright news, in October, Car­
rie Russell conducted training for the eight 
new copyright scholars, the team of copy­
right specialists now serving as consultants 
on the Copyright Advisory Network (CAN, 
www.librarycopyright.net). 

By all accounts, the training was a 
great success, and, with the help of these 
librarians, CAN will continue to be a key 
resource for librarians who have questions 
about copyright. 

The purpose of CAN is to encourage li­
brarians to discuss copyright concerns, and 
for them to seek feedback and advice from 
fellow librarians and copyright specialists. 
The site is extremely comprehensive, with 
forums, a blog, and an excellent list of links 
and resources. 

Discussion is fully encouraged, because 
with copyright there are no defi nitive an­
swers, so your perspective or point of view 
will add to a full exchange of ideas. 

The eight scholars are Freya Anderson, 
Julia Binnie, Janet Brennan Croft, Ruth 
Dukelow, Claudia Holguin, Molly Klein­
man, Cindy Kristof, and Raizel Liebler. 

January 2008  37 C&RL News 

http:www.librarycopyright.net
mailto:abridges@alawash.org