SOME PROPOSALS REGARDING COPYRIGHT CLEARANCE AND DIGITIZATION IN HIGHER-EDUCATION

Reports the results of a study undertaken to consider the issues relat ing to the clearance of rights by British higher education institution s for the digitisation of materials published in print. Current licens ing models frequently involve prices which librarians find daunting an d have no mechanism for recovering from users. There is also considera ble variation in pricing of materials. The authors believe that a 'one -stop shop' for the clearance of digitisation rights would be a highly desirable development. However, negotiability of rates may be made im possible by the introduction of 'one-stop shopping' through a centrali sed agency. Electronic copyright management system (ECMS) technology f or solving the many problems of managing licences for digitised conten t is not yet proven. Not having ECMS, a strong 'compliance culture' wi ll be essential. Users and rights owners want straightforward, simple and, above all, brief contracts for licensing. There is therefore a ne ed for a shared, unambiguous licence vocabulary. The paper suggests a set of definitions of uses and user types. Using these definitions, a matrix of use and users is proposed to show types of activities for wh ich a library may seek to license materials from a publisher and for w hich a publisher may grant a licence. Many of the problems could be re solved if the suggested 'one-stop shop' central agency acted on behalf of publishers in granting digital rights (or acting as a clearing hou se for requests).