Factors affecting the application of copyright laws in digital libraries

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Ali Saatchi 1
Hadiseh Ghnbari 2
Anis Miri 3
1 Department of Private Law, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
2 Bachelor of Law and Political Science; Ferdowsi University; Mashhad; Iran
3 Information Science and Epistemology; Organization of Libraries, Museums and Documentation Center of Astan Quds Razavi; Mashhad; Iran.
Abstract
Introduction

The quantitative and qualitative increase in digital libraries is a phenomenon that has emerged in response to the growing need of society to access information. Therefore, digital libraries are facing a major challenge of copyright. This issue can prevent them from providing effective and needed services to the user community.

Methods and Materoal

The present study, while examining the factors affecting copyright in digital libraries, has presented a model in the field of copyright in digital libraries.The present study was qualitative in terms of its applied purpose and type of data collection and was conducted using the meta-synthesis method. Also, the data and information collection tool was scientific research articles published in reputable Persian and English journals in the last 12 years. From 342 articles extracted during the meta-synthesis stages, 58 articles were selected using the Persian keywords "copyright", "intellectual property", "digital libraries" and the English keywords "Copyright, intellectual property, digital libraries" in the databases Normags, Magiran, SID, Science Direct, Emerald, Springer EBSCO, SEVIER, Wiley. Due to the qualitative nature of the data (text), open coding was used to analyze the data. In this coding method, codes are extracted from the text of the article (first-order coding), and then these extracted codes are recoded to form concepts (second-order coding), and finally, concepts are recoded to form categories (text-code-concept-category). In this study, first a code was considered for all the factors extracted from previous studies and then, considering the meaning of each code, they were categorized into a similar concept. Two coders were used to control the extracted codes and categories, and the index in question in this field is the "Kappa" index.

Resultss and Discussion



: Based on the proposed research model, policy-making, the nature of content, the development of technologies, support for users, support for creators, content producers, culture-building, and the nature of use are the most important factors influencing the application of copyright laws to make information accessible to users of digital libraries. Policymaking: In general, policymakers, governments, and national officials play a key role in the policymaking and enforcement of copyright regulations. Copyright laws are usually developed by high-level national authorities and legislators, and digital library managers and operators do not have much involvement in the development of laws, and this can be one of the challenges of legislating copyright in digital libraries. Nature of content: Unlike traditional libraries, digital libraries use different sources to provide information services. These sources do not have the same content and range from software programs to traditional books. Type of use: In terms of type of use, the purpose of the user, the type of library, the status of digitization, and electronic lending are effective components. The provisions of the laws indicate that digital libraries are only able to provide digitized works in the form of digital lending. Protection of authors' rights: Digital libraries can create the possibility of reproducing copyrighted works for themselves by developing legal contracts with publishers and authors. In this case, creating clear legal procedures helps to protect the rights of authors. Protecting the rights of users: The main goal of copyright law is to protect the material and moral rights of creators and to ensure that society has access to the information it needs. With the advancement of information technology, legal challenges in the field of copyright are inevitable, and overcoming copyright infringements through file sharing requires finding preventive solutions and using technology, such as metadata standards, to create a balance between the rights of copyright holders and the use of scientific innovations. Content producers: Digital libraries use the method of digitization (Reproduction) to temporarily reproduce first-class works and make them available to users through electronic lending. It is necessary to pay attention to the credibility of the systems and databases and the laws of the countries providing this content in digital libraries. Culture building: In this dimension, three components have been identified: public awareness, transparency of laws, awareness of managers, and determination of civil responsibilities. Transparency of laws is related to cases where copyright laws have been ambiguously worded and have caused misunderstandings by users and managers of digital libraries. Friedman test was used to rank the factors. The test results showed that in this test, the highest mean value is 12.84, thus the factor "Development of technologies" has the highest degree of importance and the first rank. Also, the factors "Nature of use" and "Support for creators" are ranked as the second and third most important. On the other hand, the factors "Nature of content", "Content producers" and "Support for users" have the lowest degree of importance, respectively.

Conclusion

This research shows that copyright laws in digital libraries are very different from traditional libraries. According to the research results, digital libraries need to take a deeper look at copyright laws in order to provide services to their users, with the aim of respecting the rights of producers and users of information resources.
Keywords
Keywords: Copyright
Intellectual Property
digital libraries
Metasaynthesis
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Human and Information Interaction
Volume 12, Issue 1
Spring 2025
Pages 43-60