May sees the return of the CILIP Copyright Conference with Naomi Korn Associates taking charge of the programme to deliver a must-attend event for anyone looking to stay informed about the latest changes, opportunities and developments. Read on to find out more from Naomi about why you should attend, and you can book your place now.

Copyright is an ever-present for information managers and librarians – touching on all aspects of services and delivery. Continuing developments and interpretations of -copyright, particularly in light of Brexit, whose impact is still being felt, means that it is as important as ever to keep on top of changes and the real-world implications they may have on the library and information profession.

CILIP has long been aware of the importance of supporting members through the often complicated area, with its Copyright Conference becoming a regular event for the profession. This year is no different, with CILIP’s Copyright Conference taking place in May.

Keynotes from Professor Dinusha Mendis and Professor Tanya Aplin will open and close the conference, alongside expert presentations and debate. Other speakers include Margaret Haig, Head of Copyright Operations at the Intellectual Property Office; Academic Librarian Caroline Ball, who is also an influential campaigner in the #ebookSOS fight to get fairer licensing deals for ebooks in libraries; and James Bennett, Head of Rights and Licensing, Copyright Licensing Agency. As in previous years, the conference Naomi Korn will chair the conference.

Naomi Korn on this year’s Copyright Conference

This is the twelfth year in which I have proudly set the programme, and will be chairing, the annual CILIP Copyright Conference, which is the UK’s foremost forum for discussions about copyright and licensing developments for the library and information community. The Conference, run in association with Naomi Korn Associates, takes place online on 18 May 2022.

Over the last decade in particular, copyright is the gift that keeps giving. Laws have and are being reinterpreted, whilst new copyright legislation, such as the exceptions to copyright, orphan works solutions and the impact of Brexit require deeper analysis about how these issues affect access to and use of resources by librarians and information professionals.

However, at the same time because any changes to the legislation are often long in the making and slow to transpose into the UK’s legislative framework, copyright laws are frequently out of pace with the rapidly changing digital spaces in which librarians and information professionals operate. Let’s be honest, copyright laws are over 300 years old in the UK, instigated by publishers and many of the key principles upon which they were formed still evident in our legislative framework today. Subsequently, how copyright law operates in practice, the challenges these present to our sector and how we might navigate these challenges, is particularly important to discuss.

Changes in technology, such as those in artificial intelligence, new technologies for recording and processing personal data (such as face recognition technologies, and the use of social media and home assistance devices such as Alexa) are becoming commonplace.

In the field of copyright, there have been developments both in technologies to make it easier to copy and disseminate materials to multiple audiences all over the world, and in TPM software to try to prevent easy infringement being applied.

We now live in a world where everyone can be a content creator, often using multiple media as well as a content disseminator, publisher and a content user. Sometimes we can be all of them, collectively with others. Social media platforms make it easier to share content and often blur these roles.

Over the decades, the resulting role of the library, information or knowledge professional has changed beyond recognition, with arguably an increased role as being an advisor on the legality of things as well as a completely changed intermediary role between the patron and the information they wish to access.

The management of these issues is important because staff members are likely to encounter many types of digital (born digital and digital surrogates) as well as paper-based resources capable of being created, held or used by their institutions under various terms and conditions. How these resources can be used, and possibly re-purposed, by whom, where, when and for how long needs to be properly managed.

Fathoming out what can be done with different types of resources derived from multiple sources, often with layers of associated rights and permissions, can be daunting even for those well versed in copyright. This is in part due to the quantities of resources and their licences encountered by library, information and knowledge workers, but also in part due to the many possibilities of blending different digital resources together, thereby repurposing them in a variety of ways.

Keynote speaker, Professor Tanya Aplin

Staff members also need to understand the role of Creative Commons (CC) licences and how they can use them to achieve open access and embed them within broader organisational -licensing and business strategies, particularly during lock-down as well as home and remote working – the new norm.

The range of topics include:

• IP in AI and Information Management
• Government Copyright Policy following Brexit
• Ebooks and copyright
• Copyright Licensing Agency update
• Controlled digital lending and the UK legislative framework
• The use of the Quotation Exception

The confirmed speakers include:

• Opening Keynote: Professor Dinusha Mendis, Professor of Intellectual Property and Innovation Law, Bournemouth University
• Closing Keynote: Professor Tanya Aplin from The Dickson Poon School of Law.
• Margaret Haig, Head of Copyright Operations, Intellectual Property Office
• Caroline Ball, Academic Librarian and Campaigner #ebookSOS
• James Bennett, Head of Rights and Licensing, Copyright Licensing Agency
• Dr Adrienne Muir, Senior Consultant, Naomi Korn Associates

The CILIP Copyright Conference provides a unique and important platform for us to collectively discuss these issues, through presentations from some of most authoritative copyright specialists and leaders in the sector as well as new voices, offering different perspectives and opinions. Sometimes we invite to speak delegates who asked a pertinent question the year before. Last year we heard from a new professional. This year we are inviting new professionals as well as quick-fire poster slots to extend the breadth of speakers and broaden speaker representation. Thus, the CILIP Copyright Conference can enable mentoring opportunities for the next generation of copyright experts; unheard voices and succession planning in the making.

Attendance at the CILIP Copyright Conference is an ideal and unique opportunity for all librarians, archivists and information professionals to update their knowledge and professional practice in this crucial area. Additionally, it will appeal to those who want to update their general copyright, licensing and publishing knowledge.

Find out more about this year’s CILIP Copyright Conference and book your place.