Who Owns Bibliographic Metadata Created by Libraries?

Abstract

The ownership of MARC bibliographic data has been an issue between OCLC and other companies in the marketplace. Two lawsuits are discussed between OCLC and Clarivate and SkyRiver. The “WorldCat Rights and Responsibilities for the OCLC Cooperative” provides a basis for many library contracts and how OCLC lays claim to bibliographic data. The “ICOLC Statement on the Metadata Rights of Libraries” is used as a general framework for discussing issues surrounding who owns MARC records and how they can be used or re-used. Most librarians are interested in free and open use of MARC records whether or not they may have passed through the OCLC system at some point.

Keywords:

• MARC21
• MARC
• machine readable cataloging
• bibliographic description
• MARC record ownership
• lawsuits
• OCLC
• clarivate
• SkyRiver
• ICOLC