Out of Fear, Colleges Lock Books and Images Away From Scholars.

The article reports on several instances of U.S. universities and research institutions limiting access to their digital archives of orphaned works, those that do not have a clear owner, due to concerns over possible copyright-infringement. Debates surrounding fair use of popular music, literature, and art in the public domain are explored and legal issues surrounding a book digitization project by the Internet company Google are overviewed. Copyright issues related to individual photographs, problems accessing digital versions of Mexican music at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), and a photograph digitization project at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) are highlighted.