Page:The librarian's copyright companion, by James S. Heller, Paul Hellyer, Benjamin J. Keele, 2012.djvu/41

Chapter Two. Restrictions on Use without permission. The term "first sale" refers to the copyright owner's initial first sale of an authorized copy. Once the owner has made this final sale of a particular copy, the owner has no power under copyright law to control what happens to that particular copy, at least with respect to most types of material.

For libraries, the first sale doctrine is probably the most important concept in all of copyright law, because libraries couldn't function without it. Any library open to the public "distributes" work under the meaning of the Copyright Act by lending it. Thanks to the first sale doctrine, libraries generally don't incur any liability for these unauthorized distributions, but there's a catch. As we stated above, the first sale doctrine only applies to authorized copies. If a library distributes an unauthorized copy, the first sale doctrine is of no help and the library will incur liability absent some other defense such as fair use.

At this point, you might be thinking: "Yes, I already know that my library could be liable for making unauthorized copies, so why should I worry about distributing unauthorized copies?" It's important to understand that copying and distribution are two separate issues, because your library could incur liability for distribution even when it's not liable for copying. For example, if a donor offers your library a paper copy of a dissertation that he obtained from another library's microfiche collection, your library won't be liable for the copying, but it may be liable for distribution if it lends the copy.

Another way your liable may be liable for distribution (and not copying) is when it distributes unauthorized copies that were made many years ago. For example, if your library's collection includes an unauthorized copy that a former staff member made thirty years ago, the statute of