The new pilot contract raised concerns among libraries and culture people, when Kirjastolehti reported that the appearance of a book’s cover on social media can cost libraries a pretty penny.
Social media and cultural circles shook over the weekend when Kirjastolehti reported that libraries should not display book covers as reading tips on social media, as this could be a copyright crime.
The display of works on Some is governed, among other things, by the copyright exception, the right to quote.
According to Härkönen, a work can be quoted if there is a valid connection between the work and the quotation. According to him, however, it would be possible to interpret the law in an orthodox manner in terms of what is relevant. For example, displaying a book cover on social media without, for example, analyzing the graphics of the cover at the same time would not necessarily be the actual connection required by law.
The discussion is based on a new contract
The issue is related to the new pilot agreement between the Municipal Association and copyright organizations, with which libraries would not have to think about copyright in social media posts, but all material could be used without worry.
However, the problem for libraries is that the contract is really expensive.
The contract sets the price at 14.5 cents per inhabitant.
According to Martikainen, signing the contract would practically mean that the event budget would be doubled, so that the library could continue doing the same as before.
– We have to calculate whether this is really worth it for us.
The signing of the agreement is still being considered in Keski libraries, which also includes Jyväskylä, but Martikainen believes that the libraries can only manage by displaying the book covers on social media, which, according to him, is \”the most important thing for them\”.
But can that cover be shown?
Kopiosto opened up the matter and policies after the social media discussion intensified.
In Salmela’s opinion, the discussion on social media has strayed from the topic of the actual contract. The agreement applies to other use of the book’s content on social media, such as streaming story moments or showing the illustrations inside the book.
Martikainen, on the other hand, questions whether the agreement is useful for this purpose. Libraries have been able to do things under the contract in the past, but they have always had to separately ask for permission from the rights holder. This can continue to work, so in practice, an expensive contract for libraries would only eliminate the trouble of asking permission separately.
When talking about the rather expensive price of the contract, Martikainen thinks that it will become more specific once the pilot project is over. The contract offered now would last for two years.
Salmela says that the price can be evaluated even during the pilot, for example for large municipalities or library bundles.
Copyright is confusing
In the interview, Salmela emphasizes that the desire to create a new, municipal-level contract has come from within the library industry in order to clarify the situation.
Martikainen describes copyright as a rather confusing law, which often causes \”jumping back and forth\” in their application. He thinks it is good that the operation would be clarified.
According to Härkönen, if a dispute arose about the topic, for example, about displaying the cover on social media, the solution would ultimately be determined by the EU court, which would interpret the citation right according to Article 5 of the Information Society Directive.
– It’s terrible to say this, but as a researcher I hope that there will be legal disputes because then there will be new lines drawn, Härkönen states.
In the background of the agreement and uncertainty, the deputy judge sees the ever-increasing power of copyright organizations, which has strengthened with the introduction of the EU’s DSM, or copyright directive. According to Härkönen, this has happened partly at the expense of the users of the works.
This is how the directive was discussed during its introduction:
Härkönen also reminds that the interests of the rights holders are not always the same thing as the interests of the authors themselves. That’s why he questions who is ultimately served by preventing or scaring libraries from marketing works on social media accounts.
– How does this affect the borrowing of works? What about loan reimbursements, the research doctor asks.