Copying access mechanisms

Much photocopying from journals and other works is outside the exemption provisions of the Copyright Law of 1976 and cannot legally be undertaken without payment to the copyright holder. Among proposed mechanisms for the determination or transfer of copy fees are subscription surcharges, establishment of statistical copying norms, licensing by publishers, and a transfer-of-payments center. This latter approach is recommended by the Association of American Publishers which has developed a program for the establishment of a not-for-profit organization through which users, including libraries and information services, may pay centrally for their journal-article copying.