Resolved
by the Board of Directors, Association for Recorded
Sound Collections, Inc.
October 26, 2005
Sound
recordings are a vital part of America’s,
and the world’s, cultural heritage. Since the
first examples were created more than one hundred
years ago they have served as a reflection of cultural
and social history, captured and preserved in a uniquely
compelling manner. History speaks to us, in its own
voice, through sound recordings.
Whereas one of the principal purposes of the
Association is to “foster recognition and use of sound
recordings as sources of information by students
and research scholars” (Bylaws, II.c); and
Whereas
another purpose is to “develop standards
of bibliographic control and access to cooperating
sound recordings collections assembled for research
or instructional purposes” (Bylaws, II.e);
and
Whereas
another purpose is “to foster improvement
of techniques for the reproduction, storage and preservation
of sound recordings” (Bylaws, II.f);
The Association for Recorded Sound Collections
finds that several provisions of U.S. copyright
law impede
the effective preservation of historic recordings
and unduly restrict public access to those recordings. The Association recognizes the valid purposes of
copyright in rewarding creators of recordings with
a temporary exclusive right to the exploitation
of those recordings, thus encouraging them to create.
However, the Association believes strongly that
neither
creators nor the public are served by excessively
long monopoly periods, especially those that exceed
the period of commercial viability, or by restrictions
on access to recordings that rights holders do
not wish to exploit. The Association believes that
both
state and federal copyright terms for sound recordings
are excessively long.
Regarding preservation, the Association believes
that current copyright laws and regulation should
be modified to eliminate many of the restrictions
present in the law. For example, current law limits
duplication to materials that are already damaged
or deteriorating (sec. 108(c)), which virtually
assures sonically deficient archive copies; and
limits archives
to no more than three backup copies, which does
not take into account the need for distributed
copies,
mirror sites, and backups in order to responsibly
maintain digital repositories of files created
in a preservation environment.
There
should be no legal barriers to the professional
reformatting and preservation
of published
and unpublished historical recordings,
with copies
of the best possible
quality sustained in perpetuity so that
humanity’s
aural heritage may remain accessible
for study and enjoyment.
Regarding
dissemination, the Association believes that
copyright law should encourage and facilitate
the widest possible dissemination
of out-of-print recordings, whether by
physical
reissues using
modern technology (e.g., CDs), Internet
availability, or
other means.
The Association is concerned about
the large number of older recordings
originally produced for commercial
purposes that are now virtually inaccessible
due to current laws. The Association
notes that hundreds
of thousands of historical recordings
are controlled by rights holders
who have shown little commitment
to the preservation or dissemination
of these recordings.
The Association believes that when
rights holders choose not to make
historical recordings accessible,
or are unknown, institutions and
individuals
should be permitted and encouraged
to make those recordings
available, on reasonable terms and
without undue risk or encumbrance.
The Association believes that facilitating
dissemination would serve to foster
appreciation of our recorded
cultural heritage by making recordings
generally available for study, as
well as increase the likelihood
of the survival of the sounds embodied
in those recordings.
The Association strongly urges that
these concerns be taken into consideration
in copyright legislation.
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