Biblioteken, upphovsrätten och de nya medierna
CopyrightUpphovsrättBibliotekDocumentationInformationLibrary scienceArchivisticsArkiv- och bibliotekskunskapDokumentationPublic lawOffentlig rättSocial SciencesLaw and Political Science
The explosion of new digital media puts pressure for developments within copyright law both in Sweden and internationally. These developments are taking place on two different international areas: (1) WIPO which is a part of the UN family and (2) the EU where a new directive on copyright law is being prepared and probably implemented during 2001. The aim of this thesis is twofold: (1) to study which considerations libraries must make when handling the new digital media both under today's copyright laws and under those which are being developed internationally. (2) What will be the consequences, for Swedish libraries, if the new EU-directive on copyright law is implemented in Sweden? By analysing current copyright laws, international treaties and the proposal for a new EU-directive as well as the national debate the thesis brings attention to a number of central issues for libraries. The thesis concludes that if the directive is implemented the balance between the publics' access to copyright protected works granted by law and the rights of the copyright holders will, in a Swedish perspective, be changed in favour of the latter. The implementation of the directive most likely will impose both new costs as well as need for organisational changes for Swedish libraries to make possible for the current level of service to be maintained.