Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2007. / This study is on the impact of copyright law on the provision of information by libraries with special reference to computerized databases. For the purposes of this study, four hypotheses were set, being: the appropriateness of copyright law; the restriction on access to information; author's remuneration for his work; and the interpretation of the law of copyright.
A literature review was done on the origin and development of copyright, from the ancient cultures through the Middle Ages and the invention of the printing period to the enactment of the first copyright law in history (the Statute of Anne) which is the fundamental basis of the modern copyright as a legal protection for an author, artist or composer that restricts any form of reproduction.
In general, copyright law grants the autln,r an exclusive right to his works and also grants the pucil J the right to use intellectual works within th^ limits of the doctrine of 'fair use* that would not cripple the economic conditions of the author.
In chapter three, it is indicated that recent developments in computer technology, telecommunications technology and reprography have made it possible for information to be easily and cheaply copied and transmitted over distances (transborder data flow) for the use of many users. Such indiscriminate access withholds from the copyright holder legitimate royalties for his work and the protection by legal copyright. To restrict such access on the other hand, inhibits the use of the work which is also contrary to the interests of the author and to the intent of copyright law.
Libraries are a primary source of disseminated information and as such are required to observe the legal conventions of the country. With the recent developments of a wide range of technological advancements in information transfer, and an increased demand for information sharing, it is becoming increasingly difficult and in some cases impossible for libraries to fully uphold and enforce the provisions of the copyright law.
Nowadays, intellectual property has become a tradeable commodity and the recent problem is one of economic threat brought about by changing technology. Librarians depend upon the originality and products of authors and publishers in the provision of information services to users and must therefore observe the copyright law to give incentive to those with the ability to write.
The results of this study confirm the hypotheses that copyright law is not appropriate in the reproduction of all forms of copyrighted material from computerized databases; that copyright law restricts the free access to information; that authors have the right to expect remuneration for their works; and that the interpretation of copyright law is a problem and therefore confusing to libraries.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uzulu/oai:uzspace.unizulu.ac.za:10530/1157 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Naidu, Narainsamy |
| Contributors | Nzima, D.R. |
| Publisher | University of Zululand |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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