Exception 6: Digitizing During The Last 20 Years Of Copyright Protection
§ 108. Limitations on exclusive rights: Reproduction by libraries and archives
(h)(1) For purposes of this section, during the last 20 years of any term of copyright of a published work, a library or archives, including a nonprofit educational institution that functions as such, may reproduce, distribute, display, or perform in facsimile or digital form a copy or phonorecord of such work, or portions thereof, for purposes of preservation, scholarship, or research, if such library or archives has first determined, on the basis of a reasonable investigation, that none of the conditions set forth in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of paragraph (2) apply.
(2) No reproduction, distribution, display, or performance is authorized under this subsection if —
(A) the work is subject to normal commercial exploitation;
(B) a copy or phonorecord of the work can be obtained at a reasonable price; or
(C) the copyright owner or its agent provides notice pursuant to regulations promulgated by the Register of Copyrights that either of the conditions set forth in subparagraphs (A) and (B) applies.
(3) The exemption provided in this subsection does not apply to any subsequent uses by users other than such library or archives. (US Copyright Office, n. d.)
Libraries may digitize works in their last 20 years of copyright protection under certain conditions. Unless the work is still a money-maker for the copyright holder or unless the work is available at a “reasonable” price, the library can digitize the work (US Copyright Office, n. d.). However, if the copyright holder contacts the library and informs it that the work IS still a money-maker or available at a reasonable price, the library should destroy the copy. Lastly, because the work should not be subsequently used for other purposes, the library cannot put the work on the library website or loan it to other libraries, leaving only in-house use.