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Text and data mining activities—that is, the automated processing of digital materials to uncover new knowledge—have become more frequent in all areas of scientific research. Because they require a massive use of copyrighted work, there are evident conflicts with copyright legislation. Countries at the forefront of research and development have begun to address this issue. This paper presents the basic aspects of legislation applicable to text and data mining activities. It offers a detailed comparative analysis of the norms of the main jurisdictions that have regulated them to date, highlighting in each case the positive and negative aspects. An adequate knowledge of these laws is not only important for researchers but also important for the academic librarians who provide advice and support in these matters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of the technological measures that copyright holders employ to lock their works and discusses why users are disadvantaged. It compares the anticircumvention rules in the Digital Millenium Copyright Act in the US and the Copyright, Patents and Designs Act in the UK; the latest exemptions to circumventing activities released by the US Library of Congress are included. It reviews the evolution of Chinese anti-circumvention rules, starting with a well-known case preceding the promulgation of the anti-circumvention rules, then it examines the anti-circumvention provisions in the Copyright Act 1990, the Software Regulation 2001 and the ISP Interpretation 2004. It also critically analyzes the latest Network Regulation 2006 by comparing it with the DMCA and the CDPA. The paper suggests that the Chinese anticircumvention rules need to be constructed with more legal certainties. Recommendations are also made for additional redrafting to make China's anti-circumvention rules more adaptive to a digital environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intellectual Property (IP) rights is a summative term covering inter alia copyright, patents, trademark, trade secrets, etc. It subsists so that its maker can be guaranteed uniqueness of the work and avoid piracy or replication. Some of such IP rights exist prima facie, while others need to be registered. To assure that any work is not duplicated or exploited without consent is the essential thought behind IP laws which would warrant delivering its makers and creators the monetary worth of their work (termed as 'royalties'). Today, the copyright law not only secures the copyright proprietor's privileges and other neighboring rights but also manages public interest of the work and aims at striking a balance between both, in this technological environment. In this way, the copyright law secures a long adventure today, in contrast to those days when only scholarly and artistic works were included. Doing so, it has entered a world which is laden with mechanical advancements. Hence, talking about the present scenario of copyright laws, the only concern is tracing the infringers and enforcing laws on such infringement on the author's rights. The author tries to put forth the information entailing copyright laws, particularly of Australia, UK and the USA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]