section 108 due diligence project
database for current distribution of vhs video titles eligible for duplication under section 108 of u.s. copyright law containing titles owned by the three libraries participating in the original project: american university, washington, dc; arizona state university, tempe, az; and william paterson university, wayne, nj.
the intention of the project is to provide a research tool to speed the research of other librarians and archivists who are undertaking vhs digitization projects. the database is not intended to be limited to the three initial participating libraries but to eventually become a broader group effort open to contributions from librarians and archivists nationwide.
university staff and faculty often want to know if linking to copyrighted material on the internet is infringement. this article gives a good overview of some pivotal european cases while reminding us in the u.s. that linking is "a (mostly) liability-free action, whether nonprofit or for-profit, as long as we use common sense and don’t encourage or induce copyright infringement."