Is VHS an obsolete format under Section 108?
Libraries routinely rely on Section 108, the limitations on exclusive rights specifically for libraries and archives in US Copyright Law, even if librarians don’t always realize that the services they provide, such as ILL, are encompassed in Section 108. Also included in Section 108 are provisions for libraries and archives to make replacement copies of published works in their collections if the work is ‘damaged, deteriorating, lost or stolen, or if the existing format in which the work is stored has become obsolete’. What is obsolete? Well, 108 (c) defines a format as obsolete ‘if the machine or device necessary to render perceptible a work stored in that format is no longer manufactured or is no longer reasonably available in the commercial marketplace.’ For convenience, the text of 108 (c) is below. Read more