Essential Law for Information Professionals, 4th edition

Essential Law for Information Professionals, fourth edition, provides up-to-date and easy-to-follow practical guidance on the law as it affects information management and the principles underlying practice. Using individual cases to illustrate these core principles and contextualise regulations, it cuts through the legalese to provide exactly what’s needed in an easily digestible format showing examples of how the law has worked in practice in specific legal cases. The book gives readers the tools to quickly assess legal hazards and identify solutions.

Information law is a particularly fast moving area of law. In the eight years that have passed since the best-selling third edition was published, there have been many changes to the legislation and numerous legal cases which have further developed our understanding of the law. The fourth edition fully reflects those changes, which include:

• a new chapter on library law which covers the legal framework for libraries (concentrating on legislation and soft law relevant to libraries)
• implementation of the GDPR through the Data Protection Act 2018
• a major overhaul of the copyright exceptions, and the 2018 implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty 
• the Re-Use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015 and the implications of the 2018 proposals for a new re-use directive
• extension of the public lending right scheme to e-books
• CILIP’s ethical framework.

Readership: Essential Law for Information Professionals is an essential guide for anyone working in the information professions. It is also the ideal legal textbook for students of information studies and librarianship.

Disclaimer
List of figures and tables
Table of statutes, etc.
Table of cases
Abbreviations
Glossary of terms 
Preface

1 General law and background
1.1 Legal system 
1.1.1 Common law system 
1.1.2 Civil law system 
1.2 Court system 
1.2.1 England and Wales 
1.2.2 Scotland 
1.2.3 Northern Ireland 
1.2.4 Judicial reviews 
1.2.5 Tribunals 
1.3 Sources of law 
1.3.1 Progress of UK legislation
1.3.2 Law reports 
1.3.3 Public international law 
1.3.4 Websites 
1.4 Legal concepts/terminology
1.4.1 Criminal law 
1.4.2 Civil law
1.4.3 Tort (England, Wales, Northern Ireland)/Delict (Scotland)
1.4.4 Contract law 
1.4.5 Property
1.5 Conclusions 
References

2 Library law
2.1 Localism Act 2011 
2.2 Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 
2.3 Sustainable Communities Act 2007 and Sustainable Communities Act 2007 (Amendment) Act 2010
2.4 Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964
2.5 Local byelaws 
2.6 Literary and Scientific Institutions Act 1854 
2.7 Library Offences Act 1898 
2.8 Prison library service 
2.9 School library service 
2.10 Equality Act 2010 (section 149: Public sector equality duty) 
References 28

3 Copyright
3.1 General principles
3.1.1 Copyright ownership 
3.1.2 Term of protection 
3.1.2.1 Unpublished works and the 2039 rule 
3.2 Economic and moral rights 
3.2.1 Risk management 
3.3 Legislative framework 
3.3.1 Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works
3.3.2 Universal Copyright Convention
3.3.3 Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
3.3.4 World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty
3.3.5 European directives on copyright matters
3.3.5.1 On the legal protection of computer programs
3.3.5.2 On rental and lending right
3.3.5.3 Harmonising the term of copyright protection 
3.3.5.4 On the legal protection of databases
3.3.5.5 On the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights
3.3.5.6 On the resale right for the benefit of the author of an original work of art
3.3.5.7 On the enforcement of intellectual property rights
3.3.5.8 Directive on the term of protection of copyright 
and certain related rights amending the previous 2006 Directive (‘Term Directive’)
3.3.5.9 Directive on certain permitted uses of orphan works
3.3.5.10 Directive on collective management of copyright and related rights and multi-territorial licensing of
rights in musical works for online use in the internal market
3.3.5.11 Directive on certain permitted uses of certain works and other subject matter protected by copyright and related rights for the benefit of persons who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print-disabled
3.3.6 European Regulations on copyright matters
3.3.6.1 Regulation on the cross-border exchange between the Union and third countries of accessible format copies of certain works and other subject matter protected by copyright and related rights for the benefit of persons who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print-disabled
3.3.6.2 Regulation on cross-border portability of online content services in the internal market
The Intellectual Property (Copyright and Related Rights) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
3.3.7 UK legislation 
3.3.8 Supplementary case law 
3.4 Acts permitted in relation to copyright works 
3.4.1 Fair dealing 
3.4.1.1 What is substantial? 
3.4.2 Non-commercial research 
3.4.3 Private study 
3.4.4 Illustration for instruction 
3.4.5 Quotation 
3.4.6 Criticism and review 
3.4.7 News reporting 
3.4.8 Caricature, parody and pastiche 
3.4.9 Text and data mining for non-commercial research
3.4.10 The library provisions in the CDPA 
3.4.10.1 Copying by librarians on behalf of their users 
3.4.10.2 Libraries and educational establishments making 
works available through dedicated terminals
3.5 Licensing 
3.5.1 Copyright Licensing Agency 
3.5.2 NLA Media Access 
3.5.3 Design Artists Copyright Society 
3.5.4 Ordnance Survey 
3.5.5 The National Archives 
3.5.6 Creative Commons 
3.6 Digital copyright 
3.6.1 Internet 
3.6.2 Right of communication to the public 
3.6.3 Hyperlinking and deep linking 
3.6.4 Database regulations 
3.6.5 Archiving and preservation of digital content 
3.6.6 Licensing of electronic resources 
3.6.7 Digital rights management systems 
3.6.8 Digital signatures and copyright declaration forms 
3.7 Copyright clearance 
3.7.1 Databases of rights owners 
3.7.2 Orphan works 
3.7.2.1 Orphan works licences 
3.8 Open access 
3.8.1 Further information 
3.9 Ethical and professional issues and conflicts 
3.10 Further information 
References 

4 Legal deposit
4.1 Introduction 
4.2 General principles 
4.2.1 Print material 
4.2.2 Non-print material 
4.3 Enforcement 
4.4 Copyright and use of legal deposit material 
4.5 Online defamation 
4.6 The future 
4.7 Further information 
References 

5 Breach of confidence
5.1 General principles 
5.2 Obligation of confidence and the Freedom of Information Act 
5.3 Remedies
5.4 Trade secrets
5.5 Case law on breach of confidence

6 Contracts and licensing agreements
6.1 General principle
6.2 Negotiating licences 
6.2.1 Factors that can make or break a deal
6.3 Consortia and standard licences 
6.4 Technology solutions 
6.5 Use of passwords for licensed products 
6.5.1 Usage data 
6.6 Further information 
References

7 Data protection
7.1 Introduction 
7.2 General principles 
7.2.1 The GDPR and the DPA 2018 are constantly evolving 
7.2.2 Related legislation 
7.3 The six data protection principles 
7.3.1 First principle
7.3.2 Second principle
7.3.3 Third principle 
7.3.4 Fourth principle 
7.3.5 Fifth principle 
7.3.6 Sixth principle 
7.4 Accountability 
7.4.1 Documentation requirements
7.4.2 Codes of conduct 
7.4.3 Certification
7.5 Processing of personal data 
7.5.1 Legal bases for processing 
7.5.2 Processing of special categories (sensitive personal data) 
7.5.3 Consent
7.5.4 Transfers of personal data to a third country or an international organisation
7.6 Exemptions
7.7 Privacy notices 
7.8 Register of fee payers
7.9 Rights of the data subject 
7.9.1 Compensation 
7.9.2 Credit reference agencies 
7.10 Data breaches 
7.10.1 Causes of data breaches
7.11 Data protection impact assessments 
7.12 Fines and prosecutions 
7.12.1 Prosecutions
7.13 Data protection issues for libraries 
7.13.1 E-books – privacy concerns 
7.13.2 Electoral roll information in libraries 
7.13.3 Radio Frequency Identification 
7.13.4 Outsourcing
7.14 Data protection standards
7.15 How to protect your information 
7.16 Identity theft
7.17 Further information 
References 

8 Privacy 
8.1 General principles
8.2 Obligation of confidence versus breach of privacy
8.3 Codes of practice
8.4 Injunctions
8.5 Privacy and libraries
8.6 Case law
8.7 Further information 
References

9 Freedom of information
9.1 General principles of freedom of information 
9.2 The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) 
9.2.1 Local authorities 
9.3 Publication schemes 
9.4 Datasets 
9.5 Copyright implications of the FOIA 
9.6 Freedom of information and library and information professionals 
9.7 Freedom of information rights and request procedures 
9.8 Exemptions and appeals 
9.9 Enforcement 
9.10 The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR) 
9.10.1 What is environmental information?
9.11 Freedom of information in Scotland 
9.12 Freedom of information and data protection 
9.12.1 Fees and charges 
9.12.2 The time limit for responding to requests
9.12.3 The exemptions 
9.13 European Union documents 
9.14 Further information and keeping up to date 
9.14.1 Organisations 
9.14.2 Journals 
9.14.3 News feeds 
References 

10 Human rights
10.1 General principles
10.1.1 Human Rights Act 1998 
10.1.2 Fundamental Rights Agency 
10.2 Guiding principles for library and information professionals 
10.3 Human rights and data protection 
10.4 Human rights and copyright
10.5 Human rights and freedom of expression 
10.6 Further information
References 

11 Re-use of public sector information
11.1 Background
11.2 General principles
11.3 Public task
11.3.1 The ‘public task’ of public sector libraries
11.4 UK government licensing framework 
11.4.1 UK Open Government Licence
11.4.2 The non-commercial government licence 
11.4.3 The charged licence 
11.5 Right to data 
11.6 Charging 
11.6.1 Public/private partnerships and exclusivity deals 
11.7 Complaints procedure 
11.8 New Open Data and PSI Directive 
11.9 Further information 
11.9.1 Organisations 
11.9.2 Publications 
References 

12 Defamation
12.1 Introduction 
12.2 General principles 
12.3 Slander 
12.4 Libel 
12.5 Defences to libel 
12.5.1 Truth 
12.5.2 Honest opinion (previously known as fair comment) 
12.5.3 Publication on a matter of public interest (Defamation Act 2013 section 4)
12.5.4 Operators of websites who didn’t post the statement on the website (Defamation Act 2013 section 5)
12.5.5 Peer-reviewed statements in scientific or academic journals (Defamation Act 2013 section 6)
12.5.6 Privilege (Defamation Act 2013 section 7) 
12.5.7 The offer to make amends 
12.6 Remedies 
12.6.1 Civil action for damages 
12.6.2 Costs 
12.6.3 An injunction/interdict to prevent repetition 
12.7 Defamation and the internet 
12.7.1 The liability of internet service providers for other people’s material
12.7.2 The application of the limitation period to online archives and the introduction of the single publication rule
12.7.3 Exposure of internet publishers to liability in other jurisdictions
12.7.4 The risk of prosecution for contempt of court
12.7.5 Social networking sites 
12.7.6 E-mail libel 
12.8 Checklist 
References 
Notes 

13 Professional liability
13.1 General principles 
13.2 Contract 
13.3 Tort (delict in Scotland)
13.4 Liability and electronic information
13.5 Liability for copyright infringement
13.6 Risk management
13.7 Indemnity and insurance 
References 

14 Cybersecurity and cybercrime
14.1 Background
14.2 Cybersecurity and cyber essentials 
14.3 Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime 
14.4 The Computer Misuse Act 1990 
14.5 The Network and Information Systems Regulations
14.6 Hacking
14.7 Viruses, worms and Trojans 
14.8 Intellectual property infringement 
14.8.1 Plagiarism 
14.8.2 Software piracy 
14.8.3 Making illegal downloads of music files 
14.8.4 Other examples of copyright abuse 
14.9 Pornography 
14.10 Fraud 
14.10.1 Phishing
14.10.2 Pharming 
14.11 Denial of service attacks 
14.12 Acceptable use policies
14.13 Communications Act 2003 
References 

15 Disability discrimination
15.1 General principles 
15.2 Copyright and the disability exceptions 
15.3 The Right to Read 
15.4 Website accessibility 
15.5 Further information 

16 Other legal issues relevant to librarians
16.1 Introduction 
16.2 Police, surveillance and libraries 
16.3 Cloud computing 
16.3.1 Escrow agreements
16.3.2 Data protection issues
16.3.3 Ownership of the data
16.4 Stocking extremist/controversial literature
16.5 Censorship
16.6 Theft or mutilation of rare books
16.6.1 Examples of theft by library users
16.6.2 Examples of theft by library staff
16.7 Lending of audio books and e-books by public libraries
16.8 Further information
References 

Appendices
Appendix 1 Brexit and the orphan works exception 
Appendix 2 CILIP's ethical framework 
Index

Paul Pedley MA MLib FCLIP has been following developments in UK information law for over twenty years. He has been a member of the Libraries and Copyright Alliance since 1998, and regularly trains, lectures and speaks on copyright and other areas of information law. He is the author of a number of books published by Facet Publishing including the E-copyright Handbook, Copyright Compliance: Practical steps to stay within the law and Essential Law for Information Professionals.