No. 22

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Copyright in the library: what it is useful to know

  • Karmen Linask

    Head of the Parliamentary Information Centre, Estonian National Library

Libraries and their users inevitably face the issue of copyright because a large number of documents in collections are copyright protected.

Libraries have a special position as those responsible for the materials protected with copyright. They have the duty to ensure the preservation of materials and the access to them. On the one hand, all measures to protect the materials have to be used; on the other hand, an opportunity to use the materials has to be ensured. This overview contains only some principles of the use of the works protected with copyright: what is permitted, what is prohibited and what the Estonian Copyright Act says. The Estonian Copyright Act was passed in 1992. Copyright is an exclusive right in its essence: the author has the right to use his or her work in every way and to permit or prohibit the use of his or her work.

Full article in Estonian

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