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She said that copyright and intellectual property (IP) laws need to balance the rights of content creators with the need to maintain access in the public good.

'We at the British Library use DRMs to manage our collections and we recognise they can be a valuable tool,' Brindley said. 'However, while protecting rights holders against infringement they can prevent copying of material for fair dealing purposes. Digital material generally comes with a contract, and these contracts are nearly always more restrictive than existing copyright law and frequently prevent copying, archiving and access by the visually impaired.'

She said that an examination of a small sample of 30 licences offered to the British Library from publishers showed that only two were as generous in terms of access as statutory fair dealing. Other than these only two allowed archiving of the material and not one permitted copying of the whole work by the visually impaired.

'We need clarification that contracts

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cannot supersede statutory fair dealing rights,' Brindley said. 'We are sliding into this situation already which, in my view, is unacceptable.'

The UK national library wants IP laws changed to clarify that fair dealing rights refer to digital as well as print items, that copying is essential for digital preservation purposes and that the preservation needs of sound recordings also need to be recognised.

These recommendations are included in the library's submission to the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property.

The APIG report recommended that the British Library should chair a UK stakeholders group to advise the government on IP issues. The group would comprise representatives of all sides of what the library describes as 'a debate that is often as polarised as it is complex'.

Brindley said that the library is keen to help with the creation of a balanced legislative and regulatory framework and to be involved in developing an public interest test for assessing future developments.

'A healthy creative economy needs an IP framework which rewards creativity and innovation while being balanced with protecting the legitimate public interest of supporting an informed citizenry and a healthy research base for the long-term economic and social good of the country,' she said. 'Digital developments mean that such a framework cannot simply be national. It has to be developed in an international context and within a global economy.'