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November 19, 2009 — In addition to this week's NewsBreak(s), the editors have compiled the Weekly News Digest, featuring stories from the week just past that you should know about. Watch for additional coverage to appear in the next print issue of Information Today. CLICK HERE to view all of this week's Weekly News Digest items.

International Activists Launch New Copyright Watch Website

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF; www.eff.org), Electronic Information for Libraries (www.eIFL.net), and other international copyright experts joined together to launch Copyright Watch-a public website created to centralize resources on national copyright laws at www.copyright-watch.org. Funding to create Copyright Watch was generously provided by the Open Society Institute (www.soros.org).

Copyright Watch claims to be the first comprehensive and up-to-date online repository of national copyright laws. To find links to national and regional copyright laws, users can choose a continent or search using a country name. The site will be updated over time to include proposed amendments to laws, as well as commentary and context from national copyright experts. Copyright Watch will help document how legislators around the world are coping with the challenges of new technology and new business models.

"Balanced and well-calibrated copyright laws are extremely important in our global information society," said Gwen Hinze, international policy director at EFF. "Small shifts in the balance between the rights of copyright owners and the limitations and exceptions relied on by those who use copyrighted content can destroy or enable business models, criminalize or liberate free expression and everyday behavior, and support the development of new technologies that facilitate access to knowledge for all the world's citizens. We hope that Copyright Watch will encourage comparative research and help to highlight more and less flexible copyright regimes."

Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation