Right now lawyers disagree over the situation. But the Green Paper would come down clearly in favor of the copyright holders. In fact, an official group exists under the name of the National Information Infrastructure Advisory Council. It has some 30 members. But they include only one K-12 educator and only one librarian.
Industry is far, far better represented.
People from grassroots outfits like CBS and the Motion Picture Association of America are setting the tone for the Advisory Council. Not surprisingly then, in a recent action, the Council essentially gave the green light to the Green Paper. But the big boys clearly won. As a writer of nonfiction, I'm grouchy. The Green Paper would make it harder to research my books and is outside the tradition of copyright law, which is supposed to promote the spread of knowledge.