Consultation on the Legal Deposit of Non-Print Works 29 September 2010 Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Consultation on the Legal Deposit of Non-Print Works
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport Consultation on the Legal Deposit of Non-Print Works 3
Contents
Part 1: Introduction
Part 2: Purpose of this consultation and next steps Part 3: Guidance Document Annex A: Questionnaire Annex B: Glossary of Terms
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Consultation on the Legal Deposit of Non-Print Works
Part 1: Introduction
1.1 The purpose of legal deposit is to ensure that the nation's published output (and
thereby its intellectual record and future published heritage) is preserved as an archive for research purposes and the use of future generations.
1.2 The Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003 (The 2003 Act)1 reaffirmed existing provisions for
the deposit of printed publications whereby a copy of each book or serial or other printed publication which is published in the UK is required to be deposited free of charge, in the British Library. In addition, five other libraries (the National Libraries of Scotland and Wales, and the University libraries of Oxford, Cambridge and Trinity College Dublin) are each entitled to receive, on request, one free copy of any book or other printed publication published in the UK. These libraries, together with the British Library, are collectively known as the Legal Deposit Libraries2.
1.3 The 2003 Act also created a framework in which Regulations could be made to extend
the system of legal deposit to cover various non-print media as they develop, including off line publications (e.g. CD ROMS and microforms), on line publications (e.g. e-journals). This will ensure that publications of significance are deposited, regardless of the medium in which they are published, and are preserved as part of the national archive of UK publications, so as to remain available to future generations of eligible users.
1.4 The Legal Deposit Advisory Panel (LDAP), an independent non-departmental public
body, was set up in September 2005 to work at arm's length from the Government, to advise on the implementation of the 2003 Act and to make recommendations on regulatory options for the deposit of non-print publications.
1.5 At the beginning of March 2010, DCMS and BIS completed a public consultation,
based on recommendations from LDAP, on the legal deposit of off line publications and on line publications which are available free of charge and without access restrictions. The consultation ran from December 2009 to March 2010 and we received 57
responses. At the end of March 2010, we received LDAP‘s proposals for commercial and protected on line publications.
1.6 For off line publications, we previously proposed a self-regulated voluntary scheme
(which required the deposit library to make a request for a specific non–print publication). However, we have now included off line publications in the draft
Regulations. We believe this will not place a significant additional burden on Publishers and that it will benefit both Publishers and the Legal Deposit Libraries by enabling them to take advantage of the statutory exemption from liability for e.g. breach of contract, copyright infringement and defamation for activities carried out in accordance with the Regulations.
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See: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2003/ukpga_20030028_en_1
The Faculty of Advocates in Scotland holds legal publications in Scotland which it receives from the National Library of Scotland.
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1.7 The draft Regulations cover all types of non-print publications. Whilst specific types of
non- print publication are listed in the draft Regulations, this list is non exhaustive as we do not wish to preclude new types of publications which may develop in the future. The blog is an example of a relatively new type of publication whose popularity and significance may not have been foreseen just a few years ago.
1.8 As in the case of printed publications, sound and film recordings are not covered by the
deposit obligations unless they are incidental features of the main body of a work and not its purpose.
1.9 We believe that we have achieved a reasonable and fair balance between the interests
of the Publishers and the Legal Deposit Libraries. To do this we have followed several key principles:
? Where appropriate we have drafted the Regulations so that they mirror the system which applies to printed publications;
? The draft Regulations must not lead to the likelihood that the costs incurred by Publishers are disproportionate to the benefit to the public arising from the deposit of the works;
? The draft Regulations are broad in scope so that Legal Deposit Libraries can continue to build and preserve a rich and useful archive;
? These draft Regulations must not unreasonably prejudice the interests of Publishers of the works to be deposited. Therefore, the draft Regulations stipulate limited access to the deposited works. They also provide for the possibility of embargoes so that the Legal Deposit Libraries may not provide access to specific works in certain circumstances. Similarly, we propose tight restrictions on how the deposited works may be used.
? The draft Regulations are designed to remain faithful to the ultimate purpose of legal deposit. Therefore, they give the Legal Deposit Libraries the ability to take copies and format shift for preservation purposes. On the other hand, they also make it clear that the Legal Deposit Libraries cannot, for example, sell the copies of the non–print works which they acquire under the legal deposit regime, even when the works are no longer in copyright.
1.10 The 2003 Act allows for non-print works to be deposited with Trinity College Dublin
(TCD). The 2003 Act is clear that we will not extend legal deposit to TCD unless the Secretary of State is satisfied that restrictions on the use of the deposited material under Irish law are not substantially less than in the UK. We are still awaiting
information from Ireland on this issue and we do not propose to extend the Regulations to cover Ireland until we have this comfort. However, for the purposes of the
consultation, we have included TCD as a potential Legal Deposit Library in the draft Regulations and we seek your views.
1.11 This Government has a policy that any regulation which comes into effect from April
2011 should be subject to a sunset clause. Consequently we have included in the draft regulation a clause which provides that the Regulations should cease to have effect on 5 April 2018. The intention behind this policy is to ensure that regulations that place burdens on industry do not stay on the statute book once they are no longer
needed. The existence of a sunset clause does not mean that the Regulations would
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