Digital libraries and Copyright: Libraries “did not get rid of authors”: their consent is still needed for book digitization

The Council for Codification and Enhancement of Civil Legislation under the President of Russia has excluded from its final draft of changes to the Civil Code (GK) an amendment, which could enable public libraries freely digitize books for interlibrary exchange, announced Yelena Pavlova, member of the council. Her words were proved by one of the authors of amendments, Russian Nanotechnology Corporation (“Rosnano”) lawyer Vitaly Kalyatin. Final list of amendments to the Civil Code was approved at the meeting of the council on December 27, after that they were submitted to the President for endorsement, clarified Yelena Pavlova.

Authors of amendments initially proposed to include into the Civil Code a new edition of the Article 1245. Under it libraries were granted a right to create individual copies of works, including electronic ones without author’s consent or paying remuneration. Digitization of books was supposed to enable to replace lost or damaged copies, and also to provide them to other libraries. Nevertheless the provision was excluded due to the reaction of publishers and cultural workers, who opposed introduction of the innovation. Thus, at first, consideration of amendments, scheduled for December 13 last year, was postponed because of the letter of the Russian Book Union’s President Sergei Stepashin addressed to the President Dmitry Medvedev. Sergei Stepashin underscored that “controversial” and “unclear” wording contained in the draft, needed agreement with public organizations and right holders. On December 15 an open letter to the President was signed by the musician Andrei Makarevich, film director Andrei Konchalovski, writer Daria Dontsova and other authors. They were worried that free digitization and distribution of books between libraries would deprive them of their legal incomes. The letter in particular read that amendments under consideration “undermined the very concept of the e-book market and opened an almost unrestricted area for piracy”.

The whole Russian book market in 2009 as estimated by "Eksmo" publishing house amounted to $2,7 billion. In the same year the e-book segment turnover according to J`son & Partners Consulting, did not surpass $1,5 million. In 2010 an increase of e-book segment was forecasted to reach 30% — up to $1,95 mil.

The Russian Book Union informs that there are over 45 000 libraries operating under the control of the Ministry of Culture, and over 62 000 school and university libraries in Russia. Libraries today purchase up to 10% of all book circulation in Russia, as compared to 40% in the USA. Most dependent upon these purchases are smaller publishing companies: libraries buy 2% of major publishers’ circulation, and up to 50% of that of “smaller and specialized academic publishing companies”. Adoption of amendments in the initial form could have to a greater degree affected business of the latter.

Alexandra Shipetina, Director for Development of the Russian Book Union, says that publishers look forward to further improvement of the draft. “It is necessary to clearly define the format and quantity of copies of library’s books that can be made, and also specify the impossibility to use these copies outside the repositories”, she stated. In early February the draft of amendments to the Civil Code is expected to be either returned by the President for improvement, or submitted to the State Duma, where consultations will continue within the framework of the profile committee.