UK copyright law made clear for information professionals.

AuthorDemb, Sarah R.
PositionBook review

Copyright for Archivists and Records Managers

Editor: Tim Padield

Publisher: Facet Publishing

Publication Date: 2015

Length: 360 pages

Price: $85

ISBN: 978-1-85604-929-0

Source: www.ala.org; www.facetpublishing.co.uk

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

It's no secret that Tim Padfield has been the go-to copyright guru in the United Kingdom (UK) for many years. After 30 years in the sector, he retired from the UK National Archives in 2013 to many well-wishes from colleagues valiantly suppressing a chorus of "to whom will we direct our copyright questions from now on?"

From 2005 to 2014, while working in museum archives in London, I was one of the many who benefitted directly from his expertise and willingness to share it. Anyone who deals with records created in Britain, no matter where they are now located, will benefit from his understanding of the UK legalities that govern copyrighted materials.

As noted by Alison Cullingford in an entry in her 2013 blog "The Special Collections Handbook," Padfield has played a vital role in helping us manage and influence changes in copyright law. In the fifth edition of Copyright for Archivists and Records Managers he continues to explain the complexities of the legal context, enabling archivists to make effective and informed decisions and better manage risk.

Padfield has lobbied for legislative change, delivered workshop training, kept us informed via social media, and extended individual solutions when we asked for his help. We owe him a great debt and are thankful that he decided to continue to offer advice by updating his seminal text in light of the changes made to the law the year he retired. As he says, "If in doubt, consult a lawyer," but this volume can reasonably be considered very sound advice and guidance.

Updates in This Edition

Padfield has made a review easy by using the preface to summarize the updates to the fifth edition. Among the many summaries are: an outline of major changes to the law, especially as they apply to libraries and archives; an explanation of the new approaches to orphan works; a description of the changes relating to performers' rights, quotation, caricature, parody and pastiche, text and data mining, disability, and private copying; analysis of Channel Islands and British overseas territories law; updates on acknowledgments, assignments, and liability; an explanation of how UK courts determine jurisdiction over copyright infringement on the Internet; changes to Crown copyright...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT