Copyright compliance

Copyright is not a subject that most individuals or organizations want to study in depth. They simply wish to be able to copy material in the knowledge that what they are doing is within the law. Library and information professionals must take a particular interest in copyright matters, because they find themselves placed in the difficult position of, on the one hand, being asked by their users to provide access to content, whilst, on the other hand, needing to be mindful of the legal rights of the creators and distributors of intellectual property. Copyright law is extremely complex, and consulting a copy of the legislation is not easy or straightforward, given that the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988 has been amended many times over the past two decades.