In the preface Wall acknowledges that despite the title no one could make copyright “easier”. What he aims to do is to “ease the progress of a reader into a subject, bridging gaps in understanding, and providing guidance on day to day problems”. With such an ambitious aim it is hardly surprising that the book is a weighty tome both physically and metaphorically, and not really suitable for cover to cover reading without the reader suffering severe information overload. This reviewer is not convinced that this book meets its first aim to “ease” anyone into the subject, but it does manage to achieve the other two aims.
The first part of the book is a quick reference guide. Here the reader can find summaries and outlines of the main points, with references to the relevant section where more in depth information can be found. However, despite this, it is not really a book that can be used to check a point quickly. The index lists over 20 paragraphs that deal with photographs, and quite often all these will need to be read before the whole picture is revealed.
The main section of the book is packed with information, telling the reader everything they may wish to know (as well as many things they would probably wish they did not know!) Of course copyright law is full of grey areas mainly due to lack of definition of important terms. Where conflict of interpretation does occur, such as with defining what would constitute a “reasonable proportion” Wall explains the limits suggested by professional bodies such as the Library Association (LA) and British Copyright Council (BCC). If the conflict is quite marked, for example with the use of storage and use of slides where the BCC and Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS) disagree, Wall offers common sense and practical advice on how to proceed.
Wall avoids technical jargon making the language easy understand for the lay person. What can be an obstacle at times is the sheer volume of words, although in fairness unambiguous copyright advice is not easy to deliver in a few clear and concise sentences. The relevant sections in law, which is handy if the reader needs to prove their interpretation is right.
I found the information rather confusing at times. While dealing with author abstracts Wall states that they “may be copies to any extent or published, unless a licensing scheme is available” (p. 209). As there is no licensing scheme available one would assume that all types of copying would be acceptable. Later, when discussing current awareness bulletins he suggests that they should be rekeyed to avoid infringing copyright in the typography (section 15.27, p. 386). Many copyright specialists would not agree with the need to rekey.
While writing this review the EU Copyright Draft Directive finally became a directive giving members states 18 months from April 2001 in which to incorporate the changes into national law. In Appendix 3 Wall reproduces the draft directive and explains what this could mean for future legislation. This is important information for anyone needing to know the possible effects on current and proposed services.
Whatever you need to know about copyright will be contained in this book; because of the size it may not be easy to find, but it will be there. A wide range of topics is covered including exceptions, library copying, licensing, database right, design right, electronic issues and the international dimension. There is also a very full and useful glossary of selected terms. It is not the sort of book to use as a quick reference at an information desk with a queue of customers waiting. It is more the sort of book dip in and out as mood and need dictate. To be honest it is the sort of book that would scare the life out of someone new to the field of copyright; but it would be a very useful book for those who understand the basics and wish to increase their understanding of copyright not just in the library environment but in other walks of life as well.
