Electronic copyright issues: a European perspective

The copyright field throughout Europe is dynamic, exciting and frustrating. New technology has provided new opportunities for libraries, but has also posed new challenges. Most copyright laws in Europe were developed for the paper-based environment and now have to be re-interpreted to apply to digital material. This has resulted in many people, including legal experts, being uncertain as to what the law actually allows. The European Parliament is in the process of issuing a Copyright Directive, which all member states of the European Union will have to incorporate into their national law by the end of 2002. It is hoped that the Directive will clarify a lot of the uncertainties, but it may end up causing more problems, as the Directive will have to be unravelled to find out exactly what it means. This paper discusses some of the current problems and concerns and looks forward to what the future may bring.