The Copyright Act permits libraries/archives to do this in some cases.

First, there is a specific library/archives provision that states that, where a film has been lost or stolen or has deteriorated or been damaged, you can make a replacement copy if copies are not commercially available; provided you comply with a number of specified requirements.

If your video tapes are not lost, stolen, damaged or have deteriorated, then you will have to make an assessment as to whether your need to format shift falls within the flexible dealing/special case provision (section 200AB).

An example of a situation that may warrant consideration under section 200AB may be when replacements are commercially available, but not in the format in which a specific client can use it.

You won’t, however, be able to rely on section 200AB to do a blanket transfer of your whole collection – the library would need to consider questions such as commercial availability and whether the case was “special” in relation to each title before it could make the relevant copy.

See our “Libraries – Copyright Basics” and “Special Case & Flexible Dealing - Section 200AB” information sheets for more information.

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There are a range of provisions in the Copyright Act that entitle libraries and collecting institutions (such as galleries and museums) to use copyright material without getting permission from the copyright owner.

For example, a library can copy material in its collection if it’s asked to do so by a researcher or student; it can supply copies of material to other libraries; and it can make replacement copies of material that has been lost or damaged.

In many cases, there are limits on how much a library can copy under these provisions. For example, while a book is commercially available, it can’t make a replacement copy at all, and it can only copy 10% of the number of pages or 1 chapter to supply to a researcher or student.

There are also special provisions that entitle educational institutions and people working in government to copy material without material.

Currently, if you wanted to stop people relying on these provisions, you would need to ensure that you sold copies of material subject to contractually binding prohibitions.

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Yes, provided there is nothing in the terms and conditions under which the library acquired the video or DVD which prohibits lending.

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There are a couple of provisions in the Copyright Act that may permit you to do this.

First, there is a specific library/archives provision that states that, where a tape has been damaged or has deteriorated, you can make a replacement copy if copies (in any format) are not commercially available.

However, whether or not you can make a CD copy of a tape under the “special case” provision in either of the following situations will depend on a closer analysis of why you want the material on the relevant tape on CD:

• the tape you have is damaged or has deteriorated, and replacement tapes are commercially available, but not CDs; and

• the tape you have is not damaged and has not deteriorated, and CDs are not commercially available.

For example, you may be able to format-shift the copies in cases where a borrower or your library does not have a tape player. In our view, however, you should be wary of relying on the “special case” provision to format shift “just in case” someone wants to borrow items in your collection, and you cannot apply the provision without considering on a tape-by-tape basis whether the provision is available to you.

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You can copy an unpublished written, artistic or musical work whose author has been dead for more than 50 years for a client who needs the copy for research or study, for example.

There are similar provisions for unpublished films and sound recordings made more than 50 years ago. (The application of these provisions to films is complex, however, and you may want to consider seeking further advice if relying on these provisions to copy a film.)

You can also copy a manuscript or other original version – such as a painting, first copy of a film or first copy of a sound recording – to supply to a person for research on the library’s premises or on the premises of another library. In these cases, it doesn’t matter whether or not the material has been published, provided you are copying a manuscript of other “original”.

Note also that a client may be able to rely on fair dealing provisions in the Copyright Act (for example, for the purposes of research and study) to copy the material themselves.

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Once an item is in your library collection, you can deal with it as you would any item in your collection. You can supply it in response to inter library loan requests and client requests, as long as you follow the procedures set out in the Copyright Act.

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