NEW BOOK: Rebalancing Copyright: Considering Technology’s Impact on Libraries and the Public Interest

AALL Publications Series, New Book Breanne Callahan

  • A must-have resource that examines the past and future of copyright
  • Includes in-depth discussion of copyright in relation to libraries, whose missions inevitably dovetail with the public interest aspect of copyright
  • Explores potential copyright reform with an eye toward current and upcoming technological changes
  • Perfect for libraries, universities, policymakers, and individuals interested in copyright issues

About This Title


With each new significant technology advance—photocopiers, videorecorders, the graphical web—copyright owners have pushed courts and legislators to protect their interest over the public’s. Yet, the public interest was seen as more important by this nation’s founders, as they made it possible to educate the citizenry and encouraged innovation. Should this important aspect of copyright be narrowed, the public will see a decrease in innovation, caused by a forced reinvestment in the same content repeatedly (e.g., buying the same content in Beta, VCR, DVD, BluRay).

This book reminds practitioners that their clients’ short-term interests may be served by demanding strict compliance with the language of copyright law, but the cost may be damaging their long-term interests as those same laws are used to inhibit their own innovation.

This title is thus divided into three sections. The first briefly familiarizes users with the historical context in which both copyright and libraries developed in the United States. The second looks at possible revisions to existing code sections that could be helpful to the public interest, whether in clarifying commonly confusing terms, incorporating judicial decisions into the text of statutes, or updating outdated provisions. The last section undertakes a more ambitious, theoretical overhaul of copyright principles and imagines how copyright might operate in such a reimagined environment.

About the Author


Before retirement, Michelle M. Wu (J.D., M.L.S.) was the Associate Dean for Library Services and Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center, a premier law school in Washington D.C. She has more than 25 years of experience in law schools, not only in law libraries but also serving as Senior Vice Dean for Academic Affairs while at Hofstra Law School, and as Associate Dean for Administration and Finance and Director of Law Center Human Resources at Georgetown Law. She has taught copyright and copyright licensing and regularly speaks at library conferences on these same topics. She is the originator of the legal theory underpinning Controlled Digital Lending and a co-author of the Position Statement on Controlled Digital Lending. She has authored and edited multiple publications on copyright, library management, and leadership, and has provided leadership training for prospective directors and associate deans for years.

Michelle M. Wu is also one of the recent co-recipients of the 2021 Joseph L. Andrews Legal Literature Award for Academic Law Libraries Within the Changing Landscape of Legal Education: A Primer for Deans and Provosts

Rebalancing Copyright: Considering Technology’s Impact on Libraries and the Public Interest
AALL Publication Series No. 85

Author: Michelle M. Wu
Item #: 1006346
ISBN: 978-0-8377-4137-6
Pages: xviii, 308p. (326p. total)
1 Volume, perfect bound…….$99.00
Published: Getzville; William S. Hein & Co., Inc.; 2021

*Standing order customers automatically receive this title.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *