HOW COPYRIGHT THEORY AFFECTS PRACTICES: A PRIMER FOR INFORMATION PROFESSIONALS

摘要

Over the course of several decades the U.S. economy has evolved from a manufacturingnbase to an information base. Concomitant with this transition, intellectual property theories —nwhich define the ownership and appropriate usage of information — have become increasinglynimportant to assess, and IP practices are now mission critical to predict and understand. Copyright lawnreflects ambiguities and conflicts. This paper identifies and clarifies theory in order to help librariansnand other information workers understand and manage copy rights (in the generic sense) and copynprivileges. It first examines copyright theory and its historical and contemporary impact on copyrightnlaw and information-sharing practices. It then explores historical changes in the legal and socialnframeworks of copyrights, with a special focus on policies and practices that control and manage thesenrights. It concludes by identifying emerging trends, policy considerations, and best professionalnpractices that relate to the library profession.