Intellectual Property Rights Management in the Digital Age

Spring 2003

Student: William Hornbaker
Supervisor: Paul Bracke

As the world is transformed by technical innovations, humankind tends toward an exponential increase in the amount of information that is being distributed. Basic office software can now allow anyone with a computer to present one’s ideas in an attractive, accessible format. Combining this level of professional presentation with the internet, one can publish one’s ideas for the world to see. In an open exchange of information, this may seem equitable for all parties involved, but often information is presented on the internet without proper considerations for the ownership or copyrights of said information. An additional drawback to the facility of publishing materials onto the internet is the reliability of the information being presented. It is for these reasons that it becomes necessary for any virtual source of information to document the rights associated with, and authority of, that source’s product.

To further my own studies into the field of rights management and creation and distribution of metadata, I will assist the Digital Library of Information Science and Technology (DLIST) as an intern. My goals in working with DLIST are:

• To achieve a functional competency in the use of HTML. This may be measured by periodic postings of Progress updates on a self-constructed web page. Web site to be constructed by 01/30/03.
• To increase my knowledge of the structure and organization of Digital Libraries. I will observe DLIST and model its structure and the relationships of its parts. To be created by 03/15/03 and linked here.
• To research and describe copyright and digitization status of classic articles/texts in LIS. A list of these materials will be provided to me. The outcomes of this research will appear on 'My Progress' page. Initial progress posting by 03/15/03. Finalized draft posting 05/07/03.
• To locate and collect in one place (web-based) the copyright agreements that LIS journal publishers currently use. Should this work appear in DLIST, I will provide a link here. Periodic posting to be finalized by 05/07/03.
• To explore current rights metadata and associated software for 'self-archived' and/or multi-institutional disciplinary repositories and advise DLIST - see for example, Project Romeo, http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/ls/disresearch/romeo/index.html, also see e-prints, http://opcit.eprints.org/opcitabout.shtml. An additional source may be The Digital Library Federation http://www.diglib.org/. This description will appear on a page, to be linked here. An initial draft will be posted by 02/27/03 to be completed by 05/07/03.
• 'Publishing' on the SIRLS Learning Showcase, Initial report on Showcase 03/15/03. Final report published by 05/07/03.