FreePint report looks at managing copyright

A new report by FreePint Research into managing copyright has concluded that information managers have been successful in communicating about copyright risk and have raised awareness amongst workers about their role in managing it. It also found that users are committed to supporting their organisations' policies around copyright, even when they find them confusing. In addition, managers are actively investigating technological solutions to reduce their reliance on correct human action.

Information managers and users studied also expressed confidence in the policies and approaches of their organisations towards copyright. However, managers were less confident in the users than the users are themselves, which FreePint points out suggests an ongoing risk in copyright management because errors could creep in where users believe they know more about policy and practice than they actually do.

The FreePint Research Report, Copyright Policies & Practices 2011, was published March 2011. It follows a 2010 version of the research, which was said to identify critical gaps between top-down policies about copyright and bottom-up actions and awareness of risk.