On the improvement of the Copyright Law of Korea for library services for persons with disabilities

Abstract

One of the most important issues for world libraries at the present time is to extend copyright limitations and exceptions for reproduction, for library preservation and distribution services including lending and ILL/DDS, the printout and transmission of Internet information resources, copying of library materials which are rarely available through normal trade channel and government publications, and the reproduction and electronic transmission of materials for persons with disabilities. Korean copyright law restricts access to information for persons with disabilities and often overrides their fair use rights. For these reasons, this study analysed the copyright exceptions for persons with disabilities in six major countries (United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan, and Republic of Korea) and suggested a re-draft of the Copyright Law of Korea to improve library services for persons with disabilities.

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