|
|
|
|
||
|
|
Kopinor News No. 1
Volume 2 Spring 1998
ISSN 1500-0729
1998 Annual General Meeting:
Helge Rønning named new Chairperson
At Kopinor's AGM in April Trygve Moe resigned his position as chair of Kopinor's Board of Directors. Moe, who became known as TRYM during his journalist days, is one of the founders of Kopinor. Back then in 1980 he was Secretary General of the Norwegian Union of Journalists. Until 1986 he chaired Kopinor's Members Council. From 1986 to 1989 he was chairperson of Kopinor's Board of Distribution. During the last nine years he has chaired the Board of Directors. He has held the position of Vice President of the International Federation of Journalists, and has always had an international outlook. Last December Kopinor celebrated his 70th anniversary. IFRRO's chairperson Tarja Koskinen-Olsson and many others took part in the celebration.
TRYMs position on Kopinor's board has been filled by Helge Rønning. He is a former chairperson of the Norwegian Non-Fiction Writers' and Translators' Association, and works as professor at the Department of Media and Communication at the University of Oslo. He has previously been member of Kopinor's Board of Directors.
The 1997 Results:
The Annual Report from Kopinor's Board of Directors shows NOK 10.2 m increase
The revenues in 1997 including financial income, totalled NOK 142.9 m (US $ 19.5 m). This is an increase from the previous year of NOK 10.2 m ($ 1.4 m). Operating costs in 1997 were 11.3 %, down from 11.6 % in 1996. Rightsholders in Norway and abroad were paid a total of NOK 115 m ($ 15.7 m) in 1997.
Agreement reached:
Agreement has been reached as to a "central agreement on photocopying etc. of copyright protected material in local church councils". The agreement is between Kopinor and The Church Employers' Organisation (KA). According to this agreement, KA will obtain proxies from all the church councils of the Lutheran State Church wishing to be covered by the agreement.
The agreement will allow the congregations to copy from newspapers, periodicals, magazines and books (including hymnals and songbooks), but will only permit a relatively restricted use of sheet music copies.
Kopinor will, however, first sign the agreement when the Ministry of Church Affairs has agreed to pay for illegal copies taken in recent years. The Ministry has promised that the situation will be clarified within the next couple of months.
Meetings with Minister requested:
In a letter to the Minister of Culture, two Norwegian library associations recently expressed great alarm at the proposed EU Directive on the Harmonisation of Certain Aspects of Copyright and Related Rights in the Information Society, and requested a meeting with the Minister in this respect. With reference to a position paper from EBLIDA (European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations) they demand greater liberty and less restraints for the dissemination of information from libraries. They claimed that the proposed directive threatens to limit access to information unduely. This, they state, is in no one's interest. In response Kopinor has also written to the Minister requesting a meeting on the subject of libraries and copyright. In the letter Kopinor strongly supports the Commission's stand, pointing out that the Commision sees a role for libraries in the digital environment, but based on individual or collective agreements with rightsholders. Kopinor expresses the view that Norwegian rightsholders are prepared to enter into such agreements, and points to the LAURIN Project (see below). Kopinor further points out that reprographic reproduction in Norwegian libraries is out of bounds, and specifically requests that the Ministry as soon as possible proposes Extended Collective Agreement License legislation for both analog and digital copying in libraries. Kopinor will meet the Minister, Ms. Anne Enger Lahnstein, on the 4th of June for further discussions.
Kopinor involved in Library Project:
On 11 and 12 May Kopinor took part in the LAURIN Project's kick-off meeting in Innsbruck, Austria, together with representatives of libraries in six European countries, and of the European Commission.
Kopinor is, together with the Norwegian National Library (NBR), participating in the LAURIN Project (Libraries and Archives Collecting Newspaper Clippings Unified for their Integration into Networks).
The project will run for 27 months, and was recently accepted as part of the 4th EU Framework Programme - Telematics for Libraries. There are 5 participating countries apart from Norway, and the main aim of the project is to develop a generic model for the digitisation of newspaper clippings in libraries. A scanned image of the article as well as the full text will be prepared for storage and retrieval. An integrated thesaurus system will support librarians in indexing and handling the clippings.
The aim is to facilitate access on a local level in a previously unknown fashion, and to secure that rightsholders are rewarded for such uses. Kopinor's task, together with NBR, is to develop possible solutions to the copyright issues, and hopes to involve RROs in Sweden, Germany, Austria, Italy and Spain in the effort.
Innsbrucker Zeitungsarchiv - IZA, at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, is Project Manager and Co-ordinator. LAURIN's web site can be found at http://germ2.uibk.ac.at/laurin/.
Local Authorities:
Kopinor recently brought a lawsuit against Holmestrand municipality in Norway, demanding that the court would issue an injunction against them concerning copying of copyright protected material.
According to the new Sec. 38 b of the Copyright Act, Kopinor may demand that a user who has not entered into a licensing agreement shall be prohibited by a court judgment from unlawfully exploiting a copyright work through reprographic reproduction. When mediation with the assistance of the National Arbitration Tribunal had failed, Kopinor wanted to try out the provision in Sec. 38 b which came into force in 1995.
However, the court proceedings ended with a settlement between the two parties, resulting in the municipality accepting to be licensed. 98 % of the 314,000 Local Government employees are presently covered by licenses with Kopinor.
Kapelrud replaces Stokkmo:
Vidar Kapelrud has taken up the position of Deputy Executive Director, replacing Olav Stokkmo who is now IFRRO's new Secretary General (from 1 January). He is in charge of finances, office administration and personnel, as well as chief responsible for distribution of remuneration. Vidar has studied agricultural economy as well as business administration, and has held various positions within the main organisations in the agricultural sector. He has also been involved in development initiatives in Africa and Central America.
Hans-Petter Fuglerud as, in conjunction with a departmental reorganisation, taken up the new position of Director of Licensing.
Else Lie left Kopinor last autumn, and in her place as Head of Information you will now find Marianne Yvenes, who among other things will be in charge of Kopinor's various publications and website. Educated at a teachers' training college in addition to university courses in theatre studies, art history and law, she has a varied work experience, including five years in the Bergen Int. Festival administration and ten years in publishing.
Further Copies of the Newsletter
Please feel free to contact us if you wish more information about Kopinor, or if you wish us to send copies of the newsletter for further distribution.
15 May 1998
Edited by J.W. Rudolph/M. Yvenes