Open content in libraries: Contractual issues

The basic issue examined in this chapter is how can open access be achieved through the instrument of contracts. In the digital environment right holders have the power to restrict access to works by using restrictive contractual terms enforced by means of technical measures. As a counterbalance to the extended authority of the right holder, open access movements have appeared which express the users' need to have open access to creative content. It is put forward that the terms used in contractual forms that have been standardized and express the ideology of open content are not always compatible with the existing copyright law contractual provisions and the way in which collective management functions.