Digital rights management (DRM) is an issue that has taken on great significance to many different groups recently. With an ever increasing amount of information available in digital format and the increasing ease by which that information can be copied, some believed that the notion of copyright as we know it, would cease to exist. However, the digital age has in fact seen a growing movement from content providers towards protecting their intellectual property. Technological solutions now exist that can control access to digital content to ensure that only ‘authorised’ users can gain access. While much of the pressure to develop such systems has come from the music and film industry, increasingly other content providers, such as publishers, are seeking to safeguard their information. In the past, libraries bought a copy of a book, which could be kept for as long as required, consulted by users in the library and loaned out. However, digital content is increasingly governed by licences or contracts that often restrict its use. In 2003 the law was strengthened in the UK to further protecting the rights of content providers, making it illegal to “circumvent” any DRM system. It is no wonder digital rights is becoming an area where library and information professionals are expected to advise users and take a lead. This book is, therefore, most welcome and it is primarily aimed at librarians who are new to the DRM field. It provides a useful background and context, plus looks into some of the practicalities associated with digital rights.
The book is an edited work, with the first chapter being written by the editor, Paul Pedley. There are contributions from a number of authors in the field. Pedley begins by providing some background and context to the issues surrounding DRM; why the digital environment is different, how rights holders seek to protect their interests and, most usefully, it discusses what DRM is as a concept but also as a technology which allows rights to be protected. Pedley provides a very brief outline of the copyright clearance process and copyright exceptions such as fair dealing and library privilege.
Sandy Norman is well known in the copyright field and her chapter provides a useful overview of the international issues associated with digital rights management, focusing largely on the European Union, USA and Australia. She also looks at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) treaties in some detail and future developments including the global management of rights.
Chapter 3 is written by Helen Pickering, the Copyright Manager at the Heron Service which offers copyright clearance and digitisation to the further and higher education sectors. The chapter is particularly useful for those who need to undertake copyright permissions for digital text. It takes you through the process of establishing if copyright permission is necessary and the various routes you may need to follow in order to obtain permission. The chapters also explain the types of information you need to provide to publishers and other rightsholders when seeking permission.
Linda Purdy from Sheffield Hallam University explores the DRM issues associated with teaching and learning activities, explaining how the changing face of education has brought DRM issues to the forefront of attention. She also looks at getting copyright permission for video, audio and various other types of non‐print media. Both the tutor's and the student's perspective are presented and her chapter has a particularly useful set of references.
Finally Ian Watson provides a perspective from the commercial sector and looks at DRM issues associated with newspaper production, where the issues can be extremely complex due to the numerous authors, artists and editors involved in the process. Watson also looks at digital rights licensing from a corporate perspective and the various business models that are involved.
In some ways I was disappointed the book was not longer with more contributing authors and a greater number of case studies, as these can often be at the heart of understanding DRM issues. I also expected some form of summary or conclusion at the end of the book as it had raised numerous issues which could have been usefully drawn together. The Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) also funded a scoping study in 2004 (JISC, 2004) which explored DRM issues and I did expect some reference to this study. I also expected the book to have some information about metadata and digital rights and some of the emerging standards in this area such as the Open Digital Rights Language (ODRL) Initiative (ODRL, 2005).
I did find the book slightly repetitive in some places and felt that the individual authors had very much worked independently. There was not as much cross‐referencing between chapters and similar issues were raised which could have been usefully drawn together at the end. For example, on both p. 83 and p. 112 the issue of deep linking to web sites is discussed, from both the perspective of education and from the corporate rights holder, but there is no cross referencing. Overall however, I think this is a useful book, which from a practitioner's perspective has interesting background and context, alongside practical information about whether copyright clearance is required for an item and if so, how to get it. It is particularly useful for those information professionals who work in the education sector, as the need to secure digital rights for e‐learning materials becomes more common.
