US Library of Congress: copyright hinders preservation of old recordings

The US Library of Congress recently published a report in which it voices severe criticism about the possibilities that the US copyright provides for preserving old sound recordings. The report, the result of a ten-year study, does not paint a pretty picture.

The US copyright system, if fully enforced, would suffocate initiatives to preserve old audio recordings, states the report. Rights holders are not triggered to do so themselves as there often is no business case for publishing these recordings. But as long as they hold the exclusive rights, no one else is allowed to use them. That includes institutions that only aim to make copies for preservation.

This, the study states, is a shame. Not only will a lot of culture heritage perish. Also, there is a small and non-profitable group in the academic field that has much interest in these works to study cultural history.

One of the big reasons is that the US copyright systems have, at times, been extended to treat all carriers equally. When in 1972 a renewed system was introduced, all recordings made prior to that year became subject to that regime that provided protection for the coming 95 years. That means that even very old recordings will only enter the public domain in half a century’s time, in 2067.

For the oldest recording, dating from 1890, this entails that the work will only enter the public domain 177 years after it was made. Until that time, libraries are not allowed to make copies for preservation.

The researchers make several recommendations to take on this issue. The length of copyright should, say the authors, become limited to 50-75 years. They point to European copyright systems as an example to be emulated. Furthermore, the use of orphaned works should be allowed. Third parties should be given more space to republish editions, as long as rights holders are duly compensated. Finally, the study pleads for giving libraries more space for copying and exchanging files.

This kind of news makes the discussion about copyright exceptions all the more important: copyright is a good place to start from, but in some cases societal interests like education, research, parody or fair use need to be treated equally strongly. The Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs, for that reason, has argued for a User Generated Content exception, for some time now. Such an exception should stimulate making new creative content on the basis of existing (and possible protected) works.